The Trouble With Secrets
by Breanie
Summary: Harry and Ginny have a secret to keep. Twelve years later they learn they aren't the only ones who had kept secrets. H/G R/Hr
1. Chapter 1

**The Trouble with Secrets **

**Is That They Eventually Come Out**

Author's Note:

When this idea came to me I realized it was completely alternate universe to some extent. When the story begins it is the end of June and Harry is 20 years old. The only changes from the book is that Harry and Ginny never dated at school. Sirius, Fred, Remus, Tonks and Snape never died. And Harry dated Cho in fifth year for half the year.

I have also taken some of my own characters from my Beginning Series and applied them here such as that of Alexis O'Bryan and her job as the Ancient Runes professor at Hogwarts and her relationship with Sirius as well as my character of Emma from Montreal and her relationship with Charlie - but it DOES NOT connect to the Beginning Series in any way.

This is a Harry/Ginny Ron/Hermione story.

_There are no secrets that time does not reveal ~ Jean Racine, French playwright and dramatist._

**Chapter I:**

**His** mouth moved down her neck and her hands fisted into his hair as she arched her throat, giving him more access. It had been days since they had last stolen a moment together and she had been aching for him. He ran his hands up her sides, brushing her breasts as they moved into her hair and he tilted her chin to deepen the kiss.

"Mmm," she moaned, slipping her arms around his neck.

Harry grinned at her and pushed her back against the wall of the broom cupboard they were in. He had cornered her in the library after her last exam and tugged her into one of the broom cupboards at the back. "What am I going to do without you all summer? What were you thinking moving back in with your parents?"

Ginny grinned cheekily up at him and pressed herself closer to him. "That is a very good question, Mr. Potter. I don't know what I am going to do without you either." She kissed him deeply until she felt him surrender just a little bit and she pulled away. "This isn't fair."

He nodded, his forehead against hers and his eyes closed. "I know. But we both decided that this was for the best. Do you think we should change our minds?"

Ginny shook her head. "No. I know this is the best decision but it hurts. I want to be with you all the time."

Harry smiled and held her hips. "I know the feeling. It's just that with me being who I am and you being who you are and not to mention having so many angry brothers, secrecy seems to win out, doesn't it?"

She laughed at that and kissed his cheek. Secrecy had won when they had began seeing each other. It still blew her mind to realize that they had been dating for six months and no one knew about it. Six glorious months filled with secret dates and hours filled with groping, long kisses in broom cupboards, romantic evenings full of lovemaking at Harry's flat and full of laughter and study dates. Time had flown. Now summer had arrived and she physically felt ill at the thought of not being able to see him every day. She had been living in a London dormitory in the Healer's Academy with a horrible roommate while she attended school but now that the year was done she had to move back home with her parents for the summer or find her own flat; something she was very seriously considering because living back at home with her parents could either be very good or very bad. Especially since her parents had no idea that she was dating Harry Potter. He had become such an important part of her life that she didn't want him to not be around.

The problem was that her boyfriend was famous.

He had defeated the darkest wizard of all time at seventeen years old. The Ministry of Magic had then given him more awards than any sane person could remember. Harry had also come into all of his trust funds and property that his parents had left him. This then made him not only incredibly famous but also very desirable by the female population because he was very, very wealthy.

Since Voldemort had fallen, the world was a better place. The war had officially ended six months after the defeat of Voldemort. School had ended and the world was safe again. Harry had lived at the Burrow for a while, gladly not returning to the Dursleys, but now he had bought his own flat in London. He had moved in officially during the Christmas holidays but this summer would be the first time he was actually living there. The Quidditch season involved a lot of travelling and when he was home he tended to spend most of his time with his godson, Teddy and with his godfather. Now that the season was over he planned to actually get his flat organized.

Merlin knew the flat needed to be organized. Harry hadn't done anything with the place except move his stuff in. He didn't even own any dishes. Ginny knew that the summer would give her the opportunity to spend a little more time with Harry but it would also entail her having to come up with an excuse for her parents.

No one knew that they were dating and Ginny knew that no matter how much her parents loved Harry and considered him part of the family she was pretty sure she would not be allowed over there on a regular basis without coming clean. Not to mention that she was going to have to be very careful. She may be almost twenty years old but as long as she lived under the Weasleys' roof it meant that she was restricted to some degree.

Ron was another matter altogether as well. As Harry's best friend, Ginny knew that he presented another obstacle when it came to their being together. Harry was afraid that when he found out that his best mate had been hooking up with his baby sister behind his back he was going to lose his mind, which was putting it mildly of course. Ron was the most overprotective of all six of her brothers. Being Harry's best friend on top of that tended to make things worse.

Then of course there was Harry's ex-girlfriend Cho Chang. She seemed absolutely determined to get Harry back and she was the only real reason why Ginny considered coming clean about their relationship - to get her off of Harry's back.

Ginny was a very easy-going person. She had always considered herself to be polite and friendly and most people agreed that while she had a short fuse, there was no one she really hated.

But she hated Cho Chang.

The girl had been nothing but a bitch to her since she had first met her.

It had all started when Harry and Cho had first broken up at the end of their fifth year. Ginny had been in the bathroom attempting to tame her wild curls after sleeping later than she should have so that her boyfriend Michael Corner would think she actually looked presentable rather than the terror she was looking at the moment, when Cho had walked in.

_She had sneered at her attempts and Ginny had simply raised an eyebrow at her._

_ "Can I help you?"_

_ Cho smirked. "Pul-lease, like I would even ask for you help!"_

_ Ginny turned then. "Excuse me?"_

_ "You heard me."_

_ She took a deep breath and decided that pursuing Cho's comment would not be in her best interest. Ginny turned back to the mirror and continued to fix her hair before applying some moisturizer to her face and Cho snickered._

_ "Okay, what is your problem?" Ginny demanded, turning now to look over at Cho._

_ Cho shrugged and tucked her long straight black hair up into a ponytail. "I don't understand what Corner sees in you."_

_ "That's none of your business."_

_ "I think it's plenty of my business."_

_ Ginny crossed her arms in front of her now. "Why is that exactly?"_

_ "I think he could do better. Your family is poor and cheap and dirty. You're not exactly pretty and I know you don't put out or he wouldn't have turned to me for some help."_

_ Ginny's mouth dropped open at those words. "You don't even know me!"_

_ Cho shrugged. "I know enough. I do know that Corner deserves better and I AM better!"_

_ "I thought you were dating Harry Potter."_

_ "We broke up. I was just too much woman for him."_

_ It was Ginny's turn to snicker now. "Too much woman for him? Really Cho, you think pretty highly of yourself, don't you?"_

_ "What's that supposed to mean?" Cho demanded, tossing her hair over her shoulder._

_ Ginny reached down to grab her book bag and smiled. "Well, you believe yourself to be better than me and you don't even know me." She turned and pushed open the bathroom door. "If Michael wants you, he can have you. But I think he's making a bad choice. I'm a lot nicer than you."_

_ She stepped out into the hallway and smiled at Harry and Ron who were walking by. "Hi guys, how's it going?"_

_ Harry smiled at her. "Pretty well. How's it going for yourself?"_

_ Ginny shrugged. "Could be better. I just heard a rumour that you and Cho broke up because she was too much woman for you."_

_ "What? That's ridiculous! I broke up with her because she's a bitch." Harry demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest._

_ Ron laughed at that. "And Mione and I both hated her. A lot."_

_ Cho stormed out of the bathroom and grabbed Ginny's arm, unaware of the audience behind her. "I am so much better than you, Weasley! How dare you even accuse me of being not nice? I'm prettier and smarter and I know how to keep my man happy, unlike you!"_

_ Ginny smiled sweetly now. "Well, at least I've got boobs." She tugged herself out of Cho's grasp and walked away humming, grinning at the sound of laughter coming from Harry and Ron. _

_ It had definitely been worth it._

The memory still made Ginny smile. Cho hadn't been able to return with a comeback for that and it made Ginny smile. She had of course confronted Michael Corner about sleeping with Cho and then had soon broken up with him upon his admittance. Cheating was the one thing that she did not tolerate.

Cho had stepped back for a while but once the school year had started up again and Harry had defeated Voldemort, she seemed to find him desirable again. Then when he had started playing professional Quidditch she had definitely fallen into the 'fangirl' category and she had been following him around like a lost puppy. It pleased Ginny immensely that he hadn't fallen into her trap. But she still seemed to think she stood a chance with him six years later and whenever Ginny saw her flirting with him she desperately wanted to smack her and stake her territory.

Everything was normal otherwise now that the war had ended. She had graduated from Hogwarts with honours and gotten accepted into the Healer's Academy much to the happiness of Molly Weasley as well as been offered a position for the Holyhead Harpies. Gwyneth Jones had been even nicer about it and allowed her to play while studying to be a healer. It allowed her to experience her Quidditch dream and help pay for her dream to be a healer. The program was four years and she now had two years behind her. She enjoyed playing chaser for the Harpies, especially when she got to play against Harry.

She and Harry had always been friendly.

He had saved her life in the Chamber of Secrets when he had been twelve and her eleven and they had been mutually polite to each other since Harry was best friends with her brother. But they had never been close.

But then things had started to change between herself and Harry.

Ginny had always had a small crush on Harry Potter. It had been more of a fairy tale until she had met him. The crush had grown a bit as she learned more and more about him. But she had always put it out of her mind as one of those fantasies that would never happen. But then to her surprise, Harry had also began to have a bit of a crush on her.

It had been around Christmas time when she had began to notice.

_ The Burrow was quiet, everyone was sleeping and she decided to creep downstairs for a cup of hot cocoa. She was surprised to see Harry sitting in the common room on her way down._

_ "Harry, what are you doing up?"_

_ He shrugged and leaned back on the chesterfield. "Can't sleep. Want to sit with me for a bit?"_

_ "Sure." She took a seat next to him and smiled. "Want to talk about it?"_

_ He shook his head. "Not really. I'd like to talk to you though. Take my mind off the dreams."_

_ She smiled at him. She knew that even though the war was over he still often suffered from terrible nightmares. She could relate as well as sometimes she still woke in fear of Tom Riddle coming out of a diary. "Of course. What would you like to know?"_

_ Harry grinned now and leaned a little closer to her. "Are you single?"_

_ Ginny blushed to the roots of her hair. Had he really just asked her that? "Yes."_

_ His grin widened and he stood up, brushing her thigh when he did. "Good." He was half way out of the room before she found her voice._

_ "Why does it matter to you?"_

_ Harry winked at her now. "Let's just say my dream wasn't exactly a bad one."_

_ She had watched him walk away with her mouth slightly open._

She had started to notice it really the next day. He paid more attention to her. She had caught him staring a few times. But it hadn't been until the first week back at school that anything had happened.

It still made her smile to think about how they had ended up together. Ginny had been in the Wizarding Public Library of London when Harry had walked in.

_Ginny liked to sit in this deserted back corner where the books were almost never disturbed. It was quiet there and peaceful as no one took a detour in that direction so she was able to get more work done. Not to mention that she was forced to live in the library to avoid her roommate. _

_ It had surprised her to hear a chair move and turn to see Harry taking a seat next to her._

_ "Hi."_

_ He grinned at her. "Hi. I hope I'm not disturbing you."_

_ She shook her head and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Oh no, just making notes on potions for a test I have coming up. What are you doing here? As a Quidditch player I've never had to come to the library for work before."_

_ He grinned at that. "This seems to be your corner?"_

_ "Yeah. No one else comes back here. Why did you come back here and how did you know this was my corner?"_

_ Harry smiled at her now. "I remembered that during the holidays you mentioned you liked to study here. I thought I'd see if you were here."_

_ The blush crept up into her cheeks then and she turned back towards her potion books. "Oh, so what can I do for you?"_

_ He reached down and took her chin in his hands, turning it towards him. "You can tell me if I'm out of line." Then he had leaned in and kissed her lips._

It had all started that afternoon. The secret rendevouzes and the sweet dates. It had been romantic and she didn't want it to end.

"Did I lose you somewhere?" Harry asked, bringing her attention back to him.

She laughed and snuggled into his arms, resting her head over his heart. "No. I was just thinking about us and how we got together and why we're keeping it a secret. I do think it's for the best, at least for now."

He nodded and kissed her again. "Good." He glanced at his watch and grimaced. "We should get going. You have still have to go pack for home and I'm supposed to meet Ron and Hermione at the pub. Tonight, meet me at my flat. I want to be with you one more night before summer begins."

Ginny smiled up at him at those words. It sounded perfect to her. "I can't wait."

**Ron** Weasley was excited for summer vacation to start. He knew that he should be more concerned with what the professor in front of him was saying because being an Auror was a serious business and it was important for him to be paying full attention in all of the training and exercising courses, but it was the last hour of the last day of class until September. He just wished it would end. He was more excited now because he was finally dating the girl of his dreams; the love of his life; the one he had been dreaming about since he had been fourteen. It had all started only three months before and it still blew his mind to think about it.

_They had been painting his new flat, the muggle way because Ron had been interested in trying it out. Harry had been helping but he had ran off with a date for the evening. Despite Hermione's constant begging he had refused to tell either one of them who it was with._

_ "It's not fair," she muttered, blowing her bushy curls out of her eyes as part of her hair had fallen from its elastic band. "I was the one who told Harry that he should start dating again. There hasn't been anyone since Natalie Davis back in November. I just want to make sure he's making a good decision is all. So many girls are just after him because he's Harry Potter not because he's our Harry."_

_ He had grinned at her. That was partly true but Ron also knew that Hermione liked to know everything; she enjoyed sticking her nose in places where it didn't belong. It was something he and Harry knew about her and loved about her while at the same time finding it extremely frustrating and annoying._

_ "Mione, you know Harry is probably only doing it to drive you crazy. Besides, didn't he say it was a first date? Let him decide if he likes the bird or not first."_

_ "Women are not birds, Ronald." She demanded, sending him a dirty look over her shoulder and making his stomach clench. She was so beautiful when she was annoyed or angry._

_ He rolled his eyes. "Right, sorry."_

_ "I've actually got a date myself tonight."_

_ Ron's heart sped up a bit in his chest. Every guy she had ever dated was a douche; at least in his opinion. Okay, Victor Krum had been alright, Ron was ready to admit that he had overreacted in that sense but Cormac had been a catastrophe and David Cunningham, the guy she had dated after the war for six months from the Ministry had just been the worst possible choice. He had not only dumped her for not having sex with him but had actually slapped her once. Ron had only found that part out because Harry had beat the guy to a bloody pulp in _Finnegan's Pride_ and Ron had confronted him. Harry was not normally an angry person so he had been surprised. As far as he knew, Hermione still didn't know that Harry had told him about David._

_ "So who's the guy?" He asked, hoping he sounded friendly._

_ Hermione smiled at him. "His name is Roberto Bottolini and he's an Italian painter. He's a muggle and I have an art history class with him at Oxford. He's really sweet and he's been bugging me about going out with him for a few months now and I thought well, why not. I haven't really dated anyone since David; just the odd date here and there. So tonight will be our first date. I'm meeting him at this fancy Italian restaurant in Piccadilly's Circus at seven."_

_ Ron nodded. "I see. Well, have a nice time."_

_ "Thanks, I hope I will. Are you still dating Laura Addison, the keeper from the Harpies?"_

_ Ron shook his head. "Nah, she was kind of boring. You think I'm obsessed with Quidditch, she's crazy! All she talks about is past Quidditch moves and how amazing and groundbreaking they were and how she's tried them out. I had to either break up with her or curse her."_

_ Hermione laughed at that, feeling a little smug at the thought. "Oh, well that's too bad."_

_ She turned back to her painting and Ron watched her. He wanted her. No other woman had ever drawn such desire from him the way she did. She was his best friend and he knew that there was no possible way that she felt the same about him. Sometimes he would catch her watching him and he would wonder on it, thinking maybe he was wrong and that she did feel something but then she would look away and he would be left wondering if he had imagined it. She stood on her toes a bit to reach the one part of the wall and Ron's eyes moved down to her firm bottom in the khaki shorts she wore. _

_ She really was beautiful and he wanted her._

_ Before he had fully comprehended what he had intended to do he was dropping his brush, spinning her around him and lifting her up against him, planting his lips on hers._

_ The sound that erupted from her throat made him rock hard and he deepened the kiss, turning his head just a little to give access to his tongue. Her hands fisted in his hair but to his relief she wasn't pushing him away but pulling him towards her. She tasted like raspberries and honey and he wanted more. He moved his hands down to her waist to grip her hips tightly and slowly pulled away, letting her fall back down to the floor._

_ "Don't go on this date tonight with the Italian."_

_ "Okay."_

_ Ron's eyes met hers. "Okay? That's it? No lecture, no yelling?"_

_ She stood up on her toes and tugged his head down to hers so that she could kiss him again. When she pulled back she smiled at him. "I've been wishing you would kiss me like that since I was eleven years old."_

_ "You have?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ Ron grinned at her. "Well, I'm an idiot then."_

_ Hermione laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, yes, you are sometimes. Kiss me again, Ron."_

_ And he had._

The memory still made him smile when he thought about it. The sound of movement around him brought his attention back and Michael Corner grinned at him.

"Paying attention I see."

"Shut it," Ron muttered as he gathered up his things. He was free and he felt good about that. He checked his watch and grinned. It was just about time to meet Harry and Hermione and for his summer vacation to begin.

**"So,** met any nice girls lately?" Hermione asked as she drank her butterbeer.

Harry rolled his eyes at her. "You never give up, do you?"

"Well, you never did tell me how your date was with that mystery girl, I'm curious."

"No, you're nosy. I'm fine, Hermione."

Hermione smiled at him and reached across the table to take his hand in hers. "I know you're fine, you're always fine. But a friend's a got to worry every now and again."

Harry laughed and brought his beer to his lips. "Now and again? You worry twenty-four seven. I thought maybe once you and Ron realized that you've been in love with each other for ten years it would mean you would stop paying so much attention to me."

"Of course not. You're my best friend. You've haven't dated anyone since Natalie Davis. A date here or there doesn't count and please don't tell me you're taking after Sirius. He's a total cad!"

He laughed at that. A cad was probably not even the right word to describe Sirius Black. Once the war had ended he had really come back into himself and slept with more women then should have been possible. He was a total man-whore and proud of it. "No, I'm not taking after Sirius. I love playing Quidditch and I love being able to get a girl when I want one and to just be on my own. I'm only going to be twenty-one next month, do I need to be married with kids?"

She smiled at that and leaned over the table to kiss his cheek. "You deserve to be happy more than anyone else I know. I just want to make sure it happens."

He grinned at that. "It is. I've never been happier these past six months in my whole life. I'm content. Now stop trying to set me up."

She sighed. "Okay, okay." When his eyebrows rose slightly she grinned. "I promise."

Harry laughed. "Good. So are you happy to be done school?"

Hermione shrugged and took another sip of her butterbeer. "I don't know. I loved going to Oxford University. It was nice to be back in the muggle world; to be learning muggle things. I think it will really benefit me to have a muggle degree when I work at the Ministry as well."

"I suppose it will. I can't believe you graduated last week."

She grinned at that. "Me neither. But now I have a degree in history and criminology. The background in the muggle political system will really help me when I work at the Ministry I think. I was accepted into the Wizengamot internship by the way. I will start that in September and hopefully one year from now I'll be working in the Ministry of Magic."

"Good for you. I think you would be really good at it. We both know you're going to love it." He replied honestly. Hermione working in politics just seemed to fit. She wanted so much change and working as a lawyer would definitely give her that opportunity. Ultimately she wanted to be a judge in the Wizengamot and Harry knew that she would get there.

She smiled at him. "What about you? What are you going to do when you're finished with Quidditch?"

Harry shrugged and brought his bottle to his lips. "No clue. I'll figure that out when the time comes I suppose. Hopefully, it won't be for a few years yet. I've only been playing Quidditch for two years."

"Puddlemere is lucky to have you."

He grinned. "Don't I know it. That last match we had before the finals against the Harpies was a great one. Ginny is an amazing Quidditch player. It's going to be a real shame when she leaves the team. If any team had the chance to beat us out of the finals it was hers."

Hermione nodded at him. "I know. She really loves it too, you know. I don't think Molly understands that. She's just so happy that her daughter is going to be a healer. I think she looks at Quidditch as the job that's getting her through the Healer Academy and not as a career. Molly's a bit old-fashioned in that sense. I think she hopes Ginny will quit as soon as she graduates."

"I see. I was just surprised at the match. I remember she was good when she took my place as Seeker back at school but what a chaser. Anyway, with the finals done and complete I'm hoping I can use the summer to make my flat a home."

"Good idea." Hermione said making him laugh. "It's a bit dreary in there. Everything is white and none of your furniture matches. It's almost scary."

He laughed. "You know that furniture will look a lot better when I paint. I have the paint picked out and everything. I just need to do it. I think I might get it done tonight. Unlike Ron, I've done enough muggle painting in my life time. Merlin knows my uncle made me paint the tool shed every summer along with the deck and the common room walls. I think I'll just use magic and start setting up house."

"Sounds like a plan to me. The two of us are going to have to go out to lunch or something this summer. I'm taking the summer off completely, staying with my parents. Hopefully that will work out."

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, looking at his friend carefully.

Hermione shrugged. "Do you remember my neighbour? The one you met last year when you came to pick me up for George and Katie's wedding?"

"Yeah, Donald Thornton. He's a bit of a douche."

"A bit of. He's still hitting on me all the time! Now my mother told me that he asked my parents if he could have their blessing to date me and eventually marry me! Can you believe that?"

Harry grinned at bit at the exasperated sound in his friend's voice. "Well, you really are a very beautiful and intelligent woman. It doesn't seem too far-fetched that some guy would want to marry you."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. Well, last year when he was hitting on you, you weren't seeing anybody. Now you are. Just tell him you have a boyfriend."

"I guess. I thought I had made myself clear last summer when we spoke but after my mum told me this I was just blown away! I mean I go home at least once a month and he always somehow knows when I'm there. He's nice; he just can't take a hint."

Harry grinned. "You broke his heart, babe."

Hermione laughed now. "Right. Well, I'll see if I can talk to him again. I just wish he would take a hint is all. Not to mention that Ron can be pretty jealous."

Harry's eyebrow rose. "Really? I had no idea." He answered a little on the sarcastic side.

She laughed. "I know right, shocking. I just don't want anything to screw this relationship up."

Harry smiled at her. He knew that she had been in love with Ron since they were eleven years old. He had found out in second year and it still blew his mind a little to realize that he hadn't seen it earlier. Ron had been clearly oblivious until the Yule Ball in fourth year. But neither one of them had been brave enough to make a move in that direction. Now it had been three months and they were really happy and quite perfect for each other.

"You won't."

She smiled at him. "Anyway, Ron will be working part-time with Fred and George often this summer so he'll be a lot busier than we'll be. I know Ron mentioned something about maybe the three of us just taking a week or two and hanging out at the Burrow like old times."

Harry grinned. "He just moved out and he's already home sick?"

Hermione giggled at that. "I think he just meant the old times as in the three of us being together and I think he might be a bit home sick. It means he has to cook for himself."

"True."

They grinned at each other just as Ron took a seat at their booth next to Hermione. "Hi guys, what's so funny?"

Harry grinned at his friend. "Nothing mate. How was your last day?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Did not come soon enough. I'm very happy that I don't have to go to school anymore. The last year of the program is complete on-the-job-training so that will be nice. I'll really get to start working as an Auror."

"Good for you, mate."

"Of course it would be great if my best mate had decided to continue to be an Auror, but I suppose I can handle myself without him."

He laughed. "Good. After the war, no offence but that's the last thing I want to be doing. I love my job."

Ron grinned. "Fair point. Who doesn't love playing professional Quidditch? Anyway, have you guys been here long?"

Hermione shrugged and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Not really, no. About half an hour. Harry and I decided to come by a bit early and chat. I promised him I wouldn't pick on him anymore about dating. I think we've come to a mutual understanding.

Ron laughed at that. "Well, it's about time. Did Mione tell you she got accepted into the internship program?" Pride beaming from him.

Harry nodded. His two best friends really looked so happy together it never failed to make him smile. It had taken them forever to make a move but now that they were together it was perfect. "Yeah, she did. It's pretty great news. I'm sure Molly will be even more pleased."

Ron grinned at that. "Mum is in a planning everyone's futures right now. You should have heard her last night at dinner. With Ginny moving back home for the summer, apparently Mum has her eye on this bloke from the Ministry who would be perfect for Ginny. I can't wait to see Gin's face when she finds out Mum is trying to set her up."

Harry tried not to grimace at the thought. "I would imagine she wouldn't be pleased. The way she threatened Charlie at Christmas time is enough to scare me."

Ron laughed. "Tell me about it. Well, we'll see what happens. Oh, I got my information about September too and for the summer. The training program starts officially in September but twice a week throughout the summer we have to meet with a partner where we do an exercise routine and a test our defence skills. My partner is Scarlett Hodgens. She's alright so we'll see how that works out."

"What do you mean by 'we'll see how that works out'?" Harry asked. "Is she incompetent?"

Ron shook his head. "Nah, not so much it's just she's such a girly-girl you know? She's always freaking out if there's a spider somewhere and she's a real flirt. She pays more attention to the guys around her then what she's supposed to be doing. I just hope they don't score me based on her." He stood up. "I'm going to grab a beer and tell Seamus we're ready to order."

Harry nodded as he watched his friend walk away. He winced when Hermione kicked his shin. "Ow!"

"His partner is Scarlett Hodgens!"

"So?"

Hermione glared at him. "Don't you remember her from school?" When Harry shook his head she sighed. "Tall, thin, honey blonde hair and big blue eyes. She's beautiful! She looks like a freakin' supermodel! Not to mention that Scarlett is really a perfect name for her - she's a total slut! She slept with over half of the guys in our year! Not to mention that she's also wanted Ron since we were fifteen."

Harry rolled his eyes at her. "And Ron's wanted you since he was fifteen. Do you really think he's going to blow it with some girl he can't even stand? I don't care how beautiful she is, Hermione, he's not stupid."

She twisted her hands together nervously. "You don't know her, Harry. She's very good at seduction."

Harry leaned over the table so that he could whisper to her. "Ron loves you. Now get a grip on yourself."

But for the rest of the night, Harry couldn't help but notice that Hermione had lost a bit of her self-confidence and he really hoped that when they were alone later on, Ron would be able to bring it back to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II:**

**Later** on that evening, after his night out with Ron and Hermione he headed back to his flat.

He was finally home.

The flat was completely his and it still blew his mind to think about it. It needed work. The paint was peeling and a few of the muggle appliances just needed to be switched to magical but that wouldn't take long. He had planned on finishing it during the Christmas break but he hadn't wanted to leave the Burrow; he hadn't wanted to leave Ginny and they hadn't even been together yet.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, standing up to take a walk through the flat. He was on the eighth floor of a muggle building in downtown London. It had two good-sized bedrooms, a common room, a kitchen and a huge bath. It had been expensive but he had wanted the space.

After spending most of his life tucked away in a cupboard under the stairs, he wanted as much space as he could find. He slipped his hands into his pockets and grinned to himself.

Playing professional Quidditch had its ups and downs and one of them was the travelling he was forced to do. Between the practices and the press conferences and the games and trying to steal time with Ginny, he hadn't done anything to his flat except move in. He had purchased furniture and moved it in but had done nothing else because he hadn't been home. He had spent the last six months rotating between hotel rooms, the Burrow, Sirius' house and Remus' and Tonks' cottage.

He still had so much left to do and there was no better time like the present to get to work.

Two hours later Harry really came to realize how much he loved magic. He had bought the paint and with a few simple spells the brushes and rollers had taken over. He grinned as he looked around his red and gold common room. He had wanted to keep up the Gryffindor spirit and he was pretty sure he had managed. The walls were all painted a deep gold and the trim was all done in red except for the one wall which he had flipped - the wall was red and the trim was gold. It looked pretty damn good if he did say so himself. He used his wand to dry the paint and then began to organize his common room.

He had purchased a muggle television and a DVD player so he placed it on the entertainment unit that had come with it against the one red wall. He had two big comfortable chairs and a love seat in a deep blood red colour with black and gold pillows. The girl at the department store had helped him out with his choices. He had told her the colours he wanted and she led him in the right direction. It looked pretty good if he did say so himself.

He headed into the kitchen next and dried the paint in there. The kitchen he had painted a bright blue but only because he couldn't stand it if it was white. White reminded him of the precise cleanliness of Aunt Petunia's kitchen and he didn't want that. But he did do all the trim in white paint. The whole flat had hardwood floors so that had made it easier when choosing paint. He had made the appliances magical with a few simple spells and he figured it looked pretty good. All the cupboards were the same colour as the hardwood floor and had glass on each door.

He sighed as he looked at them.

He had forgotten to buy dishes. He had pots and pans and cooking materials, just no plates, bowls, cups, glasses, or utensils. To him that only proved how little time he had spent here since he'd bought it.

Harry had decided to paint the guest room in a soft green. He wasn't sure if he would ever have any guests to use it but he thought the green was kind of neutral. He had bought a double bed, a dresser and a nightstand for the room as well as a duvet, pillows and sheets.

His own bedroom he had painted a deep forest green with white trim. He had bought a king-sized bed because again he wanted the space as well as a working desk, chair, two nightstands and a dresser.

The bathroom he had done in a dark sea blue with a lighter blue trim. The room was huge so it looked nice. The bath consisted of a huge claw-tub, two sinks on the one counter as well as a stand up shower and toilet. He liked the room in it which had been one of the reasons why the flat had spoke to him.

His flat looked great.

He checked his watch and sighed, if he wanted to get new dishes he had better hit the store now or breakfast in the morning would be a tad difficult to accomplish. Besides, he still had two hours before Ginny was supposed to come over.

It only took him forty-five minutes.

He quickly opened everything and used a cleansing spell on them before he placed them in his cupboards and drawers. It looked good to him.

He quickly added a home silencing charm to his flat to give him the full amount of privacy from his neighbours. He didn't want to hear them and he didn't want them to hear him. Not to mention that he had no idea why he hadn't done it before. Usually he just silenced the flat when Ginny came over.

Ginny would definitely be surprised to see the difference.

She had spent many nights wrapped in his arms in the big bed and she had commented more than once that he really had to get a move on when it came to his decorating, which he had promised to do as soon as the Quidditch season was over.

The Healer's Academy was in London and the campus held student flats and houses to live in. Ginny lived with another girl named Romilda Vane who was apparently one of the worst roommates ever and Ginny hoped that in September she would be able to room with someone else. But since the school year was over, she had to move out and the thought of her moving back home made him ache.

When she was at the Burrow she would be farther away - instead of the ten minute walk that she was now. It also meant that she might not be able to spend as many nights with him. Keeping the secret had been hard enough as it was, not to mention that Romilda Vane was a tad bit obsessed with him. Harry had never been to her flat for that exact reason. Instead they had met in the library, in muggle establishments, at his flat when he was home, and in hotels.

He just wished she was with him all the time.

There was a knock on his door, waking him from his thoughts and he happily tugged it open and let Ginny inside. She looked fantastic, he noticed. He swore that every time he saw her she became more beautiful. She was wearing a long chocolate brown billowy skirt and flip-flops. Her white tank top seemed to cling to all of the right places including her declaration to Cho - her beautiful breasts. He licked his lips just looking at her as she tugged off the black zip-up sweater she wore and smiled at him.

"Hi, I hope you don't mind that I'm a little early. Romilda was driving me bonkers!"

He shook his head, pleased when she walked him backwards until he was sitting down on the love seat and he tugged her down into his lap. "Not at all. You look amazing."

She laughed and kicked her sandals off so she could straddle him in his spot. "I thought I should wear something that's easy to get off." She leaned in and sucked his earlobe into her mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Merlin!"

She laughed and kissed his nose before her eyes moved to the walls of the common room. "You painted." She jumped off of his lap and began to wander around the room in curiousity. "The place looks great, Harry!"

He grinned at that. "Thanks. Want me to show you around?"

She nodded and followed him as he showed her the kitchen, the bathroom, the guest room and his bedroom. They made their way back into the common room and took seats on the love seat.

"It really does look good. You just need a few finishing touches."

Harry's brow crinkled. "Finishing touches?"

Ginny nodded, tucking her legs beneath her. "Yes. You know the stuff that makes it a home."

He shook his head. "I don't know what you mean."

Ginny stood and tugged him into his bedroom, opening up his trunk. She dug through his belongings until she found the photo album that Hagrid had made for him in his first year. She knew that he had been adding to it as the years went on. She flipped through the pictures, pulling out one of Harry sitting in between his mum and dad as a baby; the most recent one of Harry, Ron and Hermione; an older one of the trio; one that they had taken themselves of the two of them in London; one with Harry, Sirius, Remus, Tonks and Theodore; one of Harry and Theodore; a recent picture of Teddy; and one of Christmas last year at the Burrow with Harry in the middle of the Weasley clan.

He watched as she pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell he had never heard before and he watched as she made a copy of each picture, blowing them up so that they were a little bigger, the biggest one being the most recent one of Harry, Ron and Hermione. She tucked her wand away and placed the picture of her and Harry on his nightstand. Then she tugged him back out into the common room. Over his entertainment center she placed the big picture of the trio; on one of the small tables the Weasley picture and the one of Harry with his parents; on the other table she placed the one of Harry with his godson and Harry with the marauders and then she made her way into the kitchen. On the small cabinet near the table she placed the older picture of the trio from when they had first met and the most recent picture of Teddy.

"There."

Harry grinned at her. "I didn't even think that."

She smiled. "You need to show your memories. Now first thing tomorrow you're going to go out and get frames for all of those. You should also get some plants or paintings or something to decorate the walls with other than just paint. Maybe get a bookshelf and you can put all of your school books up there. Actually, a bookshelf would look good next to the window over there."

He laughed and tugged her close to kiss her. "I promise."

Ginny smiled and snuggled into his arms. "I'm glad you finally started to make this place yours."

"I am too." He brushed her hair out of her eyes. "We should try to get together by the end of the week, meet somewhere."

She nodded. "Sounds good." She smiled and kissed his jaw line, nibbling at the corners of his mouth and teasing his lips with her tongue. By the time she actually kissed him he was desperate for her.

"Minx."

She laughed as Harry's hands moved into her hair and he deepened the kiss, turning her laugh into a moan. He really knew how to kiss. Her toes were curling at the impact and when he started to use his tongue she sighed into him.

They had started having sex four months ago and since then both of them were constantly randy and neither seemed to be able to get enough of the other.

Ginny slid her hands up his tee-shirt, feeling the taut muscles there. He had really built up over the last year or so and she knew it was because he was able to dedicate his time to Quidditch; he wasn't living with a knife pointed at his heart; and he had grown out of his gawky teenage body into a six foot two man made of solid muscle. He was still on the lanky side but no longer skinny. Getting out of the Dursley house had really allowed him to grow and flourish and really to make him a better man.

Harry groaned when her fingers circled his nipples gently. She was a terribly fast learner and he appreciated it. She tugged his shirt up and over his head and he quickly followed with her tank top. His eyes rested upon her breasts and the soft mounds of them that he could see in her white lace bra. He unhooked it and slipped it off, letting her breasts fall into his hands. He fondled them gently as he nibbled at her neck and then his mouth moved lower and he took one of those soft pink peaks into his mouth.

Ginny's head fell back in pleasure and she held his head to her breast. He had the most gifted mouth. He used his tongue, twirling it softly around her nipple so it became taut and ready. He pulled his mouth away and then planted tiny open-mouth kisses along the rest of her breast purposely ignoring her peaks and then he returned his mouth and began to suck.

"Harry!" She breathed, her grip tightening on his hair.

He smiled against her breast and turned his attention to the other one. He loved giving her pleasure and he got just as much pleasure from seeing her squirm. His hand slowly massaged her other breast and he slid the other one downwards and under her skirt. He danced his fingers along her thigh, inching ever so slowly towards the heat. His fingers moved gently, dancing over her panties, pleased to find them soaked through.

He licked her nipple and kissed his way back up to her mouth as he rubbed his hand over her through her panties. "Are you wet just for me?"

Ginny's eyes darkened and she cupped his face in her hands. "Touch me."

He stood up, wrapping her legs around his waist and unzipping her skirt as he did. He slid the skirt down and onto the floor as he walked towards the bedroom. He grinned at the green silk panties she wore as he placed her gently on the soft sheets. Harry crawled over her, straddling her now and leaning in to kiss her deeply. He pulled away and smiled at her.

He let his eyes travel down her body; over every inch of soft skin, perfect breasts and scattered freckles. He placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly began to slide them down.

"Harry," she breathed. "This is torture!"

Harry simply smiled down at her. "I'm touching you. Isn't this what you wanted?" His hands slid slowly over her breasts, down her ribcage and played with her bellybutton before he looped his thumbs in her panties and tugged them off.

She was completely exposed before him now and he licked his lips. His mouth found her breast again as he slid a finger deeply inside of her and she cried out, hips moving instinctively.

Harry placed his other hand on her hip to slow her motions. He wanted to torture her. His mouth moved down her stomach, soft kisses lower and lower until his head was between her legs and he watched as his finger played her.

She was writhing on the bed now, begging him with her eyes as well as her words. "Harry, please!"

He grinned up at her and then he slid his finger out and spread her legs, turning to kiss and suck the skin on her inner thigh and she groaned.

Merlin, he knew how to torture her. She was so hot she felt like she was going to burst and he was purposely ignoring her. She pushed him away and sat up, kneeling in front of him. "No more games, Harry. I want you."

She smiled when his eyes darkened so much they almost looked black and he sat up. He slid his hands over the backs of her knees and up her calves, over her buttocks and resting on the small of her back and then he simply ducked his head and slid his tongue inside of her.

She cried out, her body arching back at the impact. Harry's hands held her in place at the small of her back as his tongue moved in and out of her with expertise. She gasped when his tongue moved deeper and drifted over her clitoris, fondling it just enough to make her crazy. When he started to kiss it she screamed and the orgasm ripped through her. Her body shuddered against him and she cried out his name.

Harry glanced at her smugly as he kissed his way back up her body to play with her breasts. He loved nothing more than pleasuring Ginny. The way her body surrendered to him turned him on in more ways than anything else.

"Mmm, want to come again, baby?" He whispered into her ear as he slid a finger inside of her.

Ginny gasped and pulled his mouth to hers. The kiss was rough and she moaned into him when she realized the motion of his tongue was mimicking what his fingers were doing inside of her. Her fingers rubbed his nipples and she screamed when she came again, falling against him.

"Mmm, you're too good to me."

Harry chuckled at that and moved to kiss her breasts. "Impossible."

Ginny nodded and let him play with her breasts while she untied his pants and tugged them down his hips. She pushed him back onto the bed and kissed him softly. Then she just grinned at him as she slid his pants off and tossed them onto the floor followed by his boxers. He was standing at full attention and she smiled at him, licking her lips.

"Your turn."

He grinned at those words. "Come here and kiss me."

"Nuh-uh," she muttered. "Those lips are dangerous."

Harry laughed. "Just one kiss."

Ginny smiled at him and slid her hands up his chest and down over his thighs. "No."

She ran her hand over him, softly stroking his throbbing member and massaging his sacs. Then she bent her head down and heard his intake of breath. She grinned stopping just at the tip of his penis and blew softly on it. He groaned and she smiled, trailing her tongue along the length of him and over his sacs. She turned her attention to his inner thigh and started to slowly suck on the skin now, ignoring his aching spot.

"Gin!" He groaned. "Come on, be nice."

She trailed her tongue across him again and moved to suck on the skin of his other thigh. He moaned and her hands moved to play with him while she kissed his skin. She returned her mouth to his cock and gently kissed the tip before taking the whole member into her mouth. The wetness of her mouth wrapped around him caught his breath and when she began to twirl her tongue around him like she was savouring a particularly good lolly he moaned her name.

Ginny smiled to herself as she sucked him. She enjoyed nothing more than making him squirm. She popped him out of her mouth and moved to kiss and nibble at his balls, sucking gently at them and taking one into her mouth. His hands fisted into the sheets and his hips rose slightly. She moved onto the other one, sucking gently before returning to his cock. She slid her hands under him and ran her hands up and down his butt as she sucked him and she felt him strain against her mouth. She arched her head and took him deeper, sucking every inch of him and he erupted, spewing into her mouth.

She swallowed and nibbled until he was done and then she kissed her way back up his body, stopping to suck on his right nipple and he groaned, grabbing a fistful of her hair and tugging her back up to his lips.

"Vixen."

Ginny smiled at that and kissed him deeply, sighing when he began to move back down her body. She was wet again and so hot. It never took much for her to be turned on by Harry and giving him a blow job definitely turned her on.

She laughed when he flipped her over so that he was on top and slid down her body using his mouth again. He teased her clit with his tongue until she was begging and then he kissed his way back up to her neck. She writhed against him desperately.

"I want you inside of me." She begged, her hands running down his back and arms.

Harry grinned at her and turned her on her side, spooning her gently. He slid two fingers inside of her and then thrusted into her from behind. She cried out, arching back onto him as he moved. His fingers continued to torture her as she gasped at every thrust. His other hand slid up and flicked her nipple and that was all it took, she erupted into another orgasm and sighed when he pulled out of her, turning her around to kiss her again.

"Harry," she whispered, her hand sliding down to take his cock in her hand. "You're torturing me."

He knelt in front of her, closing his eyes as she gently wanked him. He was so close to coming but he wanted her to come again. It just wasn't as good if he didn't make her orgasm as many times as he possibly could. He pushed her hand away and tugged her up, pushing her back down onto the bed and burying his face in her curls.

She cried out when his tongue attacked her again and when he started to suck she pushed him away. "No more. I want you inside of me, right now."

She pushed him back so he was sitting up and she straddled him, slowly lowering herself down onto his erection. She wrapped her legs around his waist and leaned back against the bed. He just grinned at her and sucked on her breast as he moved inside of her. The rhythm got faster, harder, faster until she came and he followed seconds later. They rode each other out and he collapsed against her.

Ginny ran her hands through his hair and kissed the top of his head. His head was buried between her breasts and she sighed.

"Mmm, I feel wonderful."

"Well, five times is bound to make anyone feel wonderful."

She slapped his butt. "I wasn't complaining."

He grinned up at her and kissed her. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny blushed at those words. "I know the feeling." She kissed him softly. "After a night like tonight it surprises me that I was a virgin before I met you."

He grinned cheekily and kissed her chin. "Not completely, I wasn't your first wank."

She smiled at him. "You were my first everything else."

"Well, you learn very fast and very well," he rolled over, tugging her with him so that she was on top and he was still nestled between her legs.

"I guess I do." She sighed against him, resting head over his heart. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Harry nodded as his hands moved over her back. "I know. It's going to be hard. Not to mention that Ron told me today your Mum is working to set you up with some bloke from the Ministry."

"What?"

Harry nodded, smiling as she ran her fingers up and down his arm. "Apparently she thinks you'd be perfect for each other."

"Hmm, well, I'll just have to put a stop to that. Maybe he's cute though and I should go on a date or so."

Harry's eyebrow rose slightly. "I'll break him in half."

She laughed and kissed him softly. "Mum has to realize that I'm an adult and I'm living my own life. I'm going to be twenty in two months and she still treats me like I'm a child."

"You could always tell her you've been having sex with me, see what happens."

"Pft, you'd be a dead man."

"You're probably right. Scratch that plan."

"Are you going to come to the Burrow for some of the summer?" Ginny asked.

He nodded. "I think so, yeah. I think it will be harder to keep us a secret at the Burrow though, don't you think?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You'll have your own room again so I can sneak in."

He laughed at that. "That's just what I need, to get caught with my pants down by one of your brothers."

Ginny smiled up at him. "I'd protect you."

He chuckled softly and kissed her. "I'm in love with you."

"What?" She said, lifting her head to look at him.

"I love you."

She smiled at him then and kissed the center of his chest. "Those are the best words you ever could have said to me."

He grinned cheekily. "Alright, well, I love your breasts. They're like perfectly round cantaloupes with perfect little rosebud peaks and -"

She cuffed him across the head. "Prat! You are much too obsessed with my breasts, it's unnatural."

He laughed. "Hardly. It's just, as a point you made clear to an ex-girlfriend of mine … you got boobs, babe."

She rolled her eyes and framed his face with her hands. "Well, before your penis went and ruined a perfectly good romantic moment I was going to say - I love you too."

Harry smiled at her and kissed her softly, his tone serious again. "Good because I really love you and I think I would die a little if you didn't love me back."

Ginny kissed him again. "That's not possible. You're the kindest person I know. You have become one of the most important people in my life. I love you."

His playful smirk returned, "Alright, but I thought you liked my penis so how did my penis ruin the moment?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed, smacking him in the arm. To her surprise he caught her arm mid smack and flipped her beneath him. He hardened inside of her and grinned at her. She shook her head as he penetrated deeply. "You're awfully lucky your cute." She moaned when he began to move inside of her. "Really lucky and really good at that," she breathed.

He smiled down at her as they made love. "Mmm, just reminding you." He kissed her lips and brought her back to pleasure.

**Hermione** had barely settled back into her parents house when the doorbell rang. Her parents had left for the evening for a conference and she was looking forward to spending the evening alone. Alone time was not really possible at school and she enjoyed the solidarity of it from time to time.

She had always been able to depend on her parents for that.

Roger and Irene Granger were wonderful people but they weren't really great parents. Hermione loved them dearly and she knew that they loved her back but it wasn't the kind of relationship that Mrs. Weasley emphasized. They were friendly sure, and from time to time they would give advice but she had been on her own a lot and it had suited her.

The doorbell rang again, dragging her from her thoughts and she sighed as she headed into the other room to open the door. She peaked through the hole and sighed.

Her least favourite person in the whole world was there, Donald Thornton. She sighed as she tugged the door open.

"Hi Donald."

He grinned at her. His short blonde hair looked like it was windblown and his brown eyes smiled at her. "Hi Hermione. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

She gave him a small smile. "No actually, but I just got in and I had a long day. I was kind of hoping I could have the evening to myself."

Donald nodded. "I see. I understand that need. Do you maybe want to grab some dinner or something tomorrow, I'd love to catch up."

Hermione nodded. The only way to get rid of him was to agree. "Sure, that sounds good. I'll have to get back to you on that for sure though as my parents said something about going out tomorrow but definitely some time during the week."

"Alright, well have a great night."

"Goodnight, Don."

She closed the door behind her and sighed. He really bugged her. He was a nice enough guy she supposed. He was a banker and he was three years older and had harboured a crush on her since she had been about fifteen. He was always hitting on her and just didn't seem to grasp the point that she wasn't interested in him that way.

Hopefully, she could go out to dinner with him and tell him that she was in a relationship with Ron and maybe he would realize that she wasn't available once and for all.

She sighed and dragged her fingers through her hair. She didn't want to think about. She was going to go upstairs and take a long, hot bath.

She hummed to herself as she made her way upstairs, wondering what Ron was doing at the moment.

**Ron** was complaining, loudly.

He had agreed to work part-time at Fred and Angelina's WWW store in Glasgow but the last thing he had expected was to be scheduled to work the first day of his summer vacation. How was that even remotely fair? Fred however seemed to have no qualms at all about it and told him if that he wanted a job he had better show up first thing in the morning.

"Stupid git!" Ron exclaimed, kicking his kitchen table and then jumping up and down at the pain in his toe.

"Ronald, you told him you would work so get over it." Molly Weasley declared as she filled his freezer with food.

"I just wanted one day off, Mum. One day to get settled, to enjoy my vacation. Is that too much to ask?" Ron asked, moving to take a seat at the table he had just kicked.

Molly smiled at him. "Sweetie, that's life. Fred and Angelina could use the day off too you know. Especially poor Angelina! Working as a Quidditch agent at the Ministry and then helping Fred out at the new shop on top of being pregnant for the second time - they need a break!"

Ron sighed. When someone put it like that. "I just wanted to take Hermione out somewhere is all."

"You will. But first you need money."

He laughed at that. "Yeah, that's true."

Molly closed the door to the freezer and wiped her hands on a dish towel. "There. Now I've filled your kitchen with casseroles and quick things for you to warm up like stew and what not. You shouldn't starve for a while."

He grinned. "I can cook, Mum. You did make me learn."

She laughed and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Yes, you did. I just made a lot of food and I don't want to see it go to waste. With Ginny coming home tomorrow I know the two of us will start baking and pickling and cooking like usual and I need the space."

"Sure."

She smiled and kissed him again. "I need to head back home, sweetie. Do you need anything else?"

Ron shook his head and gave his mum a smile. "No. Thanks for the food, Mum."

Molly grinned down at her youngest son. "You're welcome. Now don't forget! I expect you to be at the house on Sunday for dinner. Everyone's going to be there! Bill and Fleur are back from France and will be here for dinner. Charlie met some girl over in Montreal and is bringing her over. Percy and Penny will be there as will as Fred and Angelina, George and Katie, Ginny, and then of course Harry and Hermione. Don't forget!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "I'll be there, Mum. I promise!"

"Good. Talk to you later, Ron. Have a nice time at the shop tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ron mumbled as he closed the front door behind his mother. It was definitely going to be an interesting summer.

**Ginny** woke up the next morning and stretched lazily. Harry had his head nestled between her breasts still and one of his legs was entwined with hers. She moved just enough to see the clock on the night table next to her and sighed. They had two hours until her father was supposed to pick her up from campus.

"Harry," she murmured, lifting his head and kissing his forehead. "Harry, wake up."

He moaned and rolled over, tugging her with him as she laughed. Once she was pinned beneath him he opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she replied.

He leaned down and kissed her softly, lingering for just a moment on her lips before he too looked over at the clock. "I guess its that time."

She nodded. "Yeah, it is. I need to pack up my last minute things."

Harry kissed her again and then he smiled at her. "Alright." He sat up and tugged her with him, kissing her neck and she sighed.

"Harry."

"Alright, I'm letting you go, now, I swear."

She giggled and pushed him away so that she could stand up. "I love you."

He stood up too and pulled her back into his arms, brushing her messy curls out of her eyes. "I love you. You'll write to me lots?"

Ginny smiled up at him. "I promise." She stood on her toes and kissed him softly and then she went to search for her clothes, which were scattered partially in the bedroom and the common room.

Harry watched her dress as he pulled on a pair of pajama pants and then watched as she pulled her hair into a bun to take out the obvious 'I just had my brains shagged out' look she had. He kissed her again and then she disapparated.

He rubbed a hand over his heart as he snuggled back under his covers.

He missed her already.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter III:**

**Harry** groaned when he heard the banging on his front door what seemed like only minutes after he had fallen asleep. He had hoped to spend a good portion of his day sleeping, especially since he had been up late with Ginny and it was his first day of summer. After Ginny had left he had simply crawled back into bed. He rolled out of bed, smashing his glasses onto his face as he padded into the common room, pulling open the door and openly glaring at whoever was there.

"'Sup, Harry, just wake up?" Sirius asked sarcastically as he pushed his way into the flat.

"No, been up for hours."

Sirius grinned and plopped himself down onto the chesterfield. "Oh really?"

Harry rolled his eyes and took a seat in one of the chairs. "What do you want, Sirius?"

"Now, is that any way to treat your godfather? It's after one after all?" When Harry failed to smile he leaned back and propped his boots up on the coffee table. "Just thought I'd stop by and see what your summer plans were." He craned his neck back to look towards Harry's bedroom. "Got a girl in there?"

Harry rolled his eyes again. "No."

"Well, that's always a shame."

Harry laughed now and stood up. "I'm getting something to drink."

Sirius followed him into the kitchen and took a seat at the island. "The place looks great though. Did you do all of this last night?"

He nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. I just need some picture frames and a few other things you know, other than furniture, I was told I need it."

He shrugged. "Looks okay to me but get what you want."

"So what have you been up to?"

"Nothing really. Bugging Moony and Tonks when I can and playing with little Teddy. I went out on a date last night with this really fine muggle woman named Diana but it didn't work out."

Harry grinned now. He knew his godfather well. "So meaning you had sex with her and then left while she was asleep?"

Sirius grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "You oughta try it." He eyed his godson carefully for a moment. "You dating anyone?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Hey, every once in a while a bloke at least needs a blow job."

"You're so crude."

"You're old enough to handle it. Though if Lily was still around I might be dead for saying it. I'm just saying, you haven't really had anyone lately. I know you don't want to live like me but still, you should have someone."

Harry sighed. "I'm perfectly happy where I am right now."

Sirius cocked his head a bit. "You're seeing someone."

"Am not."

"Don't lie to me, Potter, you lie just as well as James did as in like crap! Who's the girl? Do I know her?"

"Why would you know her? There's no one!" Harry insisted, his cheeks heating a bit.

Sirius grinned now. "Why won't you tell me? Is she ugly?'

"What? No! There's no one!"

"Aha! There is someone, otherwise you wouldn't have answered no. Come on, Harry, who is she?" Sirius begged. "Is she hot?"

Harry sighed, so much for the secret. "Fine, there is someone but we're keeping it a secret for now. We don't want everyone all over us and for the press to get wind of it."

"How long?"

"Since just after Christmas."

Sirius' grin widened now. "I knew it. It's about time you and Gin locked lips with the way you two were oogling each other."

"WHAT? I'm not dating Ginny."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "And I'm not a fucking idiot. Whatever Harry, I won't tell anyone. But between you and me, you two are quite simply perfect for each other."

"Why?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. There's just something about you two that seems to work." He smiled at his godson now, his eyes twinkling. "All that sex advice and diagrams I gave you helping you out?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "That was years ago. I have developed my own technique by now."

Sirius grinned. "How many girls have you shagged anyway?" "I'm not even close to your number so don't worry." When his godfather only continued to stare at him he sighed, blushing a bit. "Three."

"Not bad. I know you shagged Liza Roberts because I walked in on you two, I'm assuming one's Ginny since you've been dating since Christmas - who's the third?" "Why does it matter?"

Sirius gave him that look that said, don't mess with me. "It matters."

"Natalie Davis. We only did it once and I realized it was a mistake soon afterwards. We did not work together." Harry replied.

Sirius shrugged. "Sex doesn't have to mean anything all the time, you know. Sometimes it's just about the sex."

"Whatever."

"So how long have you and Ginny been having sex?"

"None of your business."

Sirius sighed. "I'm just permanently horny. I can't help myself. I think it's all those years I spent in prison. But really, you and Ginny would work great together."

"Well, yeah it does work great between us. I miss her already and I just saw her last night. This summer is going to be hard to be away from her for so long. Ron's been bugging me to go spend time at the Burrow and I think I might cave and go earlier than I planned on."

"Harry, Harry, Harry, you can't let your emotions control you like that! That's how the woman gains the upper hand! If you keep that attitude up you're going to end up married!" He shuddered. "And that's just plain scary!"

Harry grinned. "It doesn't scare me. Not when its her."

Sirius sighed in obvious disappointment. "I'm too late. I've taught you nothing."

"Come on, you'll get married someday."

"Nope. Bachelor for life."

"Good luck with that."

"Thank you." Sirius replied so sincerely that Harry laughed.

"You are a fucking idiot."

Sirius cuffed him across the head and then hugged him. "You're right. Anyway I just stopped in to pick on you and see how you were settling in. Also to tell you that Minerva offered me a teaching job."

"WHAT?" Harry replied, staring at his godfather in shock. "You a professor?"

Sirius grinned. "Scary, huh? Anyway, yeah, I accepted. I'm going to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. By the way, there is a new Ancient Runes professor and she is so damn sexy. Alexis O'Bryan. I'm going to ask her out."

Harry grinned at that. "I can't believe you're going to be a teacher but you know what I think for some unknown reason, you would be good at it."

"I know, right? It's weird but I think it suits me."

"And try not to sleep with all of your colleagues before the first month of school ends."

Sirius laughed. "The only one I plan to sleep with is Alexis. She's so fine."

Harry simply shook his head. "Well, good luck with that. By the way, I'm pretty sure O'Bryan is Tonks' best friend."

"Excellent! I can get Tonks to tell her how awesome I am." When Harry rolled his eyes he grinned. "Anyway, I just dropped by to see how you were doing and to tell you my news. If you need anything you know where to find me."

"Yeah, I do. Thanks and don't tell anyone about Gin and I."

Sirius smiled at him. "My lips are sealed. Oh and Tonks wants you go to visit, she said something about a babysitter."

Harry laughed at that. "I guess I could find time for that."

"See you."

Harry closed the door behind his godfather and sighed. He should have known that secret wouldn't have lasted.

**Ron** grinned at his girlfriend when she stepped into his flat. They were already two weeks into July and it had seemed to just fly by. It had been four days since he had last seen her and he kissed her deeply when she came into his flat.

"Hey, I'm so glad we finally got an evening together."

Hermione smiled at him. "Well, you've been very busy, what with constant Auror duties and working at the joke shop." She pulled him over to the chesterfield. "So, what have you been up to?"

He grinned at her. "Work, study, and more work."

"How's the Auror stuff coming? Is it hard?"

Ron shrugged. "It's not really hard so much as it is annoying. It's all tedious drills and teamwork; making sure as partners we can work together, you know."

"Are you working well together?"

"I don't know. Scarlett's gotten better that's for sure. Now that she seems to be put in this obstacle courses she's more concerned about getting the job done. But she's still fairly annoying. Not to mention the fact that she's distracting."

"What do you mean 'distracting'?" Hermione asked. Despite Harry's reassurance, she couldn't help but worry about Scarlett working with Ron.

"She's distracting. She's always wearing exercise clothes that barely cover the essentials and she makes these moaning sounds when she's working out and it distracts everyone there!" Ron explained, his ears reddening a little. "I mean, it's not like I'm looking it's just … it's hard to avoid with her being my partner and all."

Hermione nodded. "Are you attracted to her?"

Ron's ears turned darker. "What? No! I mean, she's gorgeous yeah, but I'm not interested in her. I want you."

She softened a little. "Am I being stupid and jealous?"

He grinned a little now and moved closer to her. "You're jealous? Really?"

"Maybe, just a bit." She admitted as Ron slipped his hand into her hair and kissed her.

"Well, let me convince you how much I want you then." He murmured, his mouth moving down her throat.

Hermione arched her head back and sighed when he started to unbutton her blouse. "Well, if you insist."

He grinned against her. "I do, I really, really do."

Then his lips were on hers and all thoughts of Scarlett were gone from her mind. Ron was just too good at distracting her from her own thoughts.

She murmured his name when his hand slid her blouse off and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor. She tugged on his own shirt and then laughed when he ripped his own clothes off quickly, pinning her beneath him on the chesterfield.

"Impatient, love?"

Ron grinned at her and tugged her capri pants off along with her panties, slipping one finger inside of her. "You tell me."

"Oh!" She gasped, arching against his hand as he nibbled on her earlobe. It looked like he was not patient enough tonight for too much foreplay. He slid another finger inside of her and her head fell back, crying out. She didn't need foreplay, not when he was touching her like this.

Ron grinned when he felt her erupt beneath him. Hermione was the most amazing lover he had ever had. She had saved herself for him, something he knew now. She had definitely only been a virgin in the technical sense. She had read more material than anyone he knew and she was so sensitive to his touch. He knew that the way she was arching against him now and moaning his name was build up but he also knew that if he moved his fingers half an inch to the left she would explode beneath him in five seconds flat. She was incredible when she orgasmed.

He moved his finger and his name burst from her lips.

Ron grinned down at her and slid his hands over her breasts, kissing her deeply.

"I love you, Mione."

"I love you, too," she told him as he slid deeply inside of her. When he began to move, she cried out his name. "Ron!"

He just picked up the pace and kissed her again. Making love to Hermione was the most amazing feeling that he had ever experienced and he had no plans of ever getting that to end. He thrusted deeper inside of her and her arms encircled his neck, her hips matching him.

Then they both came together, riding out their emotions and locked in a kiss.

**"Uncle** Harry!" Theodore Remus Lupin exclaimed in excitement when Harry stepped into Remus and Tonks' common room. He had been fairly busy over the last two weeks and hadn't had a chance to stop in yet and see his godson and he regretted that immediately upon looking down at the happy little face.

Teddy was the spitting image of Tonks in almost every perspective. This included his ability to change his appearance. But on a normal day he had Tonks' mousy brown hair and general looks but Remus' whiskey coloured eyes and nose. He was really adorable. It still blew Harry's mind to realize that he was three years old.

"Hey Teddy!" He exclaimed, bending down to scoop him up into his arms and kiss his cheeks. "What have you been up to?"

"Play!" Teddy said, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck to hug him. "Play with blocks!"

Harry grinned at him and kissed his cheeks again. "Well, I thought that instead we could go to the zoo and see lions and tigers and monkeys. Would you like that?"

"Hippo!" Teddy exclaimed making Harry laugh.

"Yes and hippos."

"Yay! Let's go!"

Harry smiled at him. "Alright, let's go find mummy and daddy first." He moved Teddy around him so that he was on his back.

"Piggy back ride!" Teddy said, messing up Harry's hair even more than usual.

Harry simply grinned up at him. The kid was a jewel.

He headed into the kitchen where Tonks was chopping up carrots at the counter. "Hi beautiful, I'm kidnapping my godson for the day."

Tonks turned, her hair a bright bubblegum pink that he had to admit oddly suited her the best. "Harry! I didn't even hear you come in!" She wiped her hands and hurried over to kiss his cheek. "I wondered when you were going to get over here and see us."

"We're gonna go to zoo!" Teddy said.

Harry nodded. "Yes, we are. Do you mind if I kidnap him for the day? I figured we'd head to the zoo for the afternoon. I'll make sure I have him back so he can nap before dinner."

Tonks smiled at him. "You don't even have to ask. He's your godson."

Harry grinned at her. "Thanks Tonks. Where's Remus today?"

"He had to go down to the Ministry and talk to Arthur about something. He should be home within half an hour or so." She grinned wickedly. "He'll be thrilled to know we have the afternoon to ourselves."

Harry laughed at that and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Enjoy. You know any time you want the day, he can come sleep at my place."

"Don't tempt me," she said with a laugh. "He's been driving me bonkers lately. But I don't know if that's because of him completely or because I'm pregnant again and my hormones are acting up."

"Pregnant?" Harry repeated, his eyes moving down to her stomach.

She nodded. "I just found out a few days ago. We're going to have another baby."

"Congrats! That's great! Hey, why doesn't Teddy stay with me tonight then? You and Remus can celebrate this news properly. What do you say?"

Tonks smiled at him. "You really wouldn't mind?" "Nah, I love this guy. We'll have a great time! Why don't you come pick him up after lunch tomorrow?"

She grinned and kissed him full on the mouth. "I love you Harry! I'll go pack him a bag."

Harry watched her hurry out of the room and grinned. It was always interesting with Tonks. "So, wanna come spend the night at my house?"

"Yes!" Teddy exclaimed, laughing when Harry leaned back and hung him upside down.

"Good."

It was an hour later when Harry apparated to the Burrow. He was hoping Ginny would be available to come to the zoo with them. He hadn't seen her since her last night at school and he really missed her. He opened the front door and stepped into the kitchen. "Hello?"

"Hello?" Teddy echoed.

Ginny poked her head out of the common room and grinned. "Well, hello handsome!" She scooped Teddy off of Harry's back and smiled at him. "Do I get a hug?" He hugged her tight and she smiled. "Kiss?" He gave her soft wet kiss on the mouth and she grinned. "Thank you."

"Ginny dear, who are you talking to?" Molly asked as she stepped into the kitchen. "Oh hi Harry! Oh, you brought Teddy to see me!"

Harry grinned as Mrs. Weasley took Teddy into her arms. Teddy was more than happy to give hugs and kisses to all who asked. He also knew that Mrs. Weasley would give him a cookie.

"I kidnapped him for the day and night. Tonks told me she's pregnant again so I offered to take Teddy for the evening so they could celebrate." He explained.

"That's nice of you," Ginny said, kissing the top of Teddy's head when Molly sat him at the kitchen table.

He grinned. "I thought so."

"So what brings you here today, Harry?" Molly asked.

Harry shrugged and took a seat next to Teddy at the table. "I thought I'd come over for lunch."

Molly laughed and kissed his forehead. "Always welcome for that." She put her apron on and headed over to the counter to get her wand. Harry grinned when bread and butter and utensils started to move around the kitchen. It was one of the memories that he had always associated with home and with Mrs. Weasley.

"So what are your plans for the day?" Molly asked.

Harry shrugged as Ginny handed him a butterbeer and poured Teddy a glass of pumpkin juice. "I was thinking of taking Teddy to the zoo in the afternoon. I figured he'd get a kick out of it."

"What's the zoo?" Ginny asked, taking a seat across from him and tangling her foot with his under the table.

He smiled at her. "It's pretty neat. You can go see all sorts of animals like lions and tigers, elephants, giraffes-"

"Hippo!" Teddy said making Ginny laugh.

"Yes and hippos. I think that's a new word."

Ginny laughed. "It sounds wonderful! I've never heard of a place like this. Are they just walking around?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's a little sad because they are all in cages but the cages are huge like big habitats so they don't really know their in a cage. But you can't release them back into the wild either because they are used to being taken care of and would most likely die."

"That is sad but I think it would be fun anyway. I wonder if any of my friends have ever been to the zoo."

Harry grinned now and winked at her, eyeing Mrs. Weasley who was making him and Teddy a sandwich. "Well, if you're not busy this afternoon, Gin, you're welcome to come with Teddy and I. It'd be nice to have someone else to talk to other than a three-year-old."

"That's a nice idea, Harry." Molly said, placing a large ham and swiss sandwich in front of him and a peanut butter and jelly one for Teddy. "You should go, dear. It does sound like fun."

Ginny smiled at that. "I think I will, thanks Harry."

"No problem. It's what friends are for."

Molly smiled at them. "So, Harry, Ron said you have a girlfriend, am I ever going to get to meet her?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Eventually."

"Uh-huh and what does eventually mean?" Molly asked, eyeing him carefully.

He shrugged. "I'm still figuring out if I like her or not." He replied trying not to wince when Ginny kicked his shin. "She's kind of annoying and a bit of a pain in the arse, you know. I want to see if it's serious or not first before I introduce her to my family." Ginny kicked him again and he grinned as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Molly teared up a bit and kissed his cheek. "Oh, I'm so happy you think of us as family dear! You take you're time."

"Thanks, Molly."

Ginny grinned at him. "I'm going to go change for the zoo."

He nodded as he watched her go. It sounded like a plan to him.

After lunch they disapparated right to the zoo. Once they were inside, Ginny turned to him.

"Could you have been any bolder?" Ginny demanded of him as they walked through the streets of the zoo with Teddy in between them. They were each holding his hand and he kept jumping up and down in excitement.

"I was telling the truth. You are annoying."

She laughed and smacked his arm. "Prat! Did you come over to see if I could go to the zoo?"

"Maybe. I figured if I had Teddy your mum would be like well she has to go. Teddy loves you more than he loves me, which isn't fair by the way. You should love me more, buddy!"

Teddy grinned up at them. "Auntie Ginny's pretty!"

Harry laughed and leaned over to kiss Ginny softly. "No argument there."

Ginny smiled at him. "Ooh, there are the lion cages! I've always wanted to see a real lion!"

Harry simply grinned as Ginny tugged him and Teddy over. She was pretty and he wasn't sure what it meant that he seemed to be falling more and more in love with her every day.

He bent down and picked Teddy up so that he could look down and see the lions. It was definitely all going to be worth it. He already knew it was.

**Harry** had convinced Ginny to come back to his flat with him after the zoo. She had helped him make something for dinner for Teddy and then gave him a bath, read him a story and Harry tucked him into bed in the guest room and closed the door. He tugged her up against him and kissed her deeply.

"I've been wanting to do that all day."

"Hmm," she murmured. "Why didn't you?"

"Teddy is repeating too much now. The kisses had to be quick."

Ginny laughed and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck. "That's a fair point." She stood on her toes to kiss him. "I can't spend the whole night."

Harry lifted her into his arms and walked with her towards his bedroom. "So let's make the most of it."

She smiled up at him as he placed her on the bed. "I'm alright with that." She sat up and tugged him down by his shirt so that he shifted and fell onto the bed, laughing. "Come here."

He grinned at her and gently framed her face with his hands. "I'm working on it." He leaned in to kiss her slowly and softly. It was so achingly slow that she swore she could feel her entire body melting degree by degree into him.

"Mmm," she murmured when his lips moved over her jaw line and down her collarbone. "Too good."

Harry smiled at her and tugged his wand out of his pocket, tossing it on the floor next to the bed. Ginny followed suit as they slowly undressed each other. The slow touches and soft kisses and torturous strokes were enough to get their breathing up.

Harry carefully pushed her down and covered her with his own body. His lips moved over her breast and he slid carefully, achingly, slow inside of her. She cried out and kissed his shoulder as they began to move together. The orgasm ripped through her and she pressed her lips to his throat to prevent herself from crying out. Harry followed only moments later and they lay like the dead still entwined in the middle of his bed.

He lifted his head just enough to brush her lips with his own. "I love you."

Ginny smiled. "I love you."

He grinned and rolled with her so that she was lying on top of him and he tugged the blankets over them, snuggling under the covers and within minutes they were both asleep.

Harry was awoken a few hours later to Ginny kissing him awake. "Why are you dressed? Come back to bed."

She kissed him again. "I want to but it's almost two, I have to get home. Mum is probably wondering where on earth I went."

"Doesn't matter, come here."

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "I just checked on Teddy and he's sleeping like a baby. See you later, Harry."

"Wait!" He protested, jumping out of bed and pulling her close up against him. "At least let me change your mind."

Ginny grinned at that. "No, because I know you'll succeed. Go back to bed."

Harry picked up his jeans off the floor and rummaged in the pocket before handing her something. "Not without giving you this." He dropped it in her hand and her eyes softened.

"A key?"

"To my flat. Two weeks was much too long to be without you. Please tell me you'll come by again soon." He said, kissing her cheek and then her neck, popping open the first two buttons on her blouse and letting his lips trail lower.

"Harry," she begged. "I have to go. I'll be back soon, I promise."

He nodded and kissed her lips one last time. "Alright, go."

Ginny smiled at him and backed out of the bedroom. He listened for the key to turn in the lock and then he heard her disapparate away and he sighed in disappointment.

He might as well check on Teddy because he had no desire to crawl back into his bed without her.

**Hermione** woke up to the worst feeling in her stomach. She barely made it into the bathroom before she began to vomit into the toilet bowl. This was the third day in a row she had woken up and spent the first part of her morning hanging over the toilet. At first she had thought it was because she had consumed a few drinks at the pub the night before but yesterday she had wondered if she was coming down with something. However, the rest of the day she had felt fine so she wasn't sure what was going on.

Her face was clammy and she carefully rinsed her mouth out with water as she stood at the bathroom mirror. The flu was going around.

She reached under the bathroom sink for her face wash and her eyes froze on the box of tampons. She ran into her bedroom to look at the calendar and started counting backwards. She should have had her period fourteen days ago. She hadn't even realized that she had been late. So much had been going on between finishing up school, starting the summer, avoiding Donald Thornton like the plague and spending as much time as she could with Ron that it had skipped her mind.

She headed back into the bathroom and placed both hands on the sink, breathing heavy. Her stomach churned and she placed a hand over her stomach and promptly proceeded to throw up all over again, barely making it to the toilet. When she was finished she headed into her bedroom for her wand. She sat on the edge of her bed and just stared at it.

She had to be overreacting. After all, she had been late before. Never fourteen days late but she had been late.

Of course, before when she had been late she had still been a virgin. She and Ron had jumped into bed kind of quickly, especially since she had never been with anyone before. Ron had slept with one other person and she was okay with that. To her it made him more experienced then she was. He had been wonderful. In fact he had been so wonderful that they had really been having a lot of sex over the last two months. They had been together for barely three months.

She gulped. There really was a very good chance. After all, she wasn't on the potion and the contraceptive charm was only ninety-nine percent accurate.

She froze. They had even forgotten the charm once a few weeks back but ...

Hermione's eyes moved back to her wand and she took a deep breath before she pointed it at herself and mumbled the pregnancy test spell. Her wand lit up in a deep red before turning her worst fear - gold.

She was pregnant.

And she had no idea what that meant for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter IV:**

**"Mum,** it's just a few friends from school. We thought it would be fun to go to London and do some shopping and some lunch in the muggle world." Ginny explained as she helped her mother bake treacle tart a few weeks into the summer.

It already been almost a week since she had last seen Harry and she missed him. His birthday was only a week away and she wanted to make plans with him about how to celebrate. But to do that she had to get out of the house. The zoo had been a lot of fun but Teddy had been there and she hadn't gotten to spend as much time with him as she had wanted. Of course they had fallen asleep much earlier than they had planned on.

It didn't seem to matter that she was legally an adult, Molly Weasley still seemed to want to know exactly where Ginny was going and when.

Molly sighed, her hands covered in flour. "I just don't know if I want you in the city, Ginny."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum, the war is over. What's going to happen to me there? I'll be with a bunch of girlfriends and we'll be downtown. I'll be fine. When I went to the zoo with Harry and then ran into my friends and stayed out late with them you didn't complain. Not to mention the fact that I'm nineteen, soon to be twenty. Are you really going to keep looking at me like I'm a child? I don't even need your permission to go."

Molly looked over at her daughter. It made her smile to see how well her daughter's hands moved in the flour. She was a great baker and an amazing cook and she knew that she had taught her daughter that. Ginny could definitely take care of herself. "Alright, fine. But you won't be late?"

Ginny grinned and leaned over to kiss her mum's cheek. "No, I won't be late. We'll be leaving around nine and I'll be home for dinner. Thanks Mum!"

Molly nodded. "You're welcome. But you behave now. Have a good time."

Ginny bit her lip as she continued to form the tarts in her hands. She definitely planned on having a good time, it just wasn't going to be with her friends. She hummed a little as she worked, feeling like she was in a much better mood.

**The** pounding on the door an hour later made Harry groan and he buried his face in the pillow. He had really enjoyed sleeping in every day and the last thing he wanted was to crawl out of bed before noon. Sirius had also started making it a nasty habit of coming to wake him up and he was getting tired of it. When the knocking continued he swore, grabbing his glasses and padding out into the common room to answer the door.

"Sirius, really this is -"

"Hi Harry," Ginny said, grinning up at him.

Harry's mouth dropped open as he grinned at her. "How did you -?"

She laughed and pushed him inside, closing the door behind her. "I'm here the whole day, that's all that matters. I hope you can find some time for me."

He kissed her and when she moaned against his mouth he pinned her back against the door and grinned. "I think I can find the time. Why didn't you use your key?"

She blushed. "I forgot I had it?"

He laughed and kissed her nose.

She ran her hands over his bare chest and tugged him into his bedroom. "I want you, now."

"Hmm, now eh?"

She pushed him back onto his bed and straddled him. "Right now."

Harry grabbed his wand off of his nightstand and made all of her clothes vanish. "Alright then." Then he flipped her beneath him as she giggled and slid his hand down, slipping too fingers inside of her. Her body arched and he covered her mouth with his. When her body erupted he fondled her breast and smiled down at her. "I'm going to have my wicked way with you."

Ginny tucked her hair behind her ears and licked her lips. "Maybe it will be the other way around."

He just grinned and they soon lost themselves in each other.

It was almost an hour later when they fully came up for air and were snuggled close together, tangled in the sheets.

"I wouldn't mind this wake-up call every morning."

Ginny slapped his chest playfully and snuggled closer. "Mmm, me neither."

Harry kissed her cheek as she cuddled with her head resting over his heart. "We actually have to go out on a real date again soon. Do you remember what those are like?"

Ginny laughed and tilted her head to kiss his chin. "You mean those things we did before we starting having fantastic sex?"

"Yeah, those," Harry said, grinning. "I feel like I never take you anywhere anymore. We just jump each other. Don't get me wrong, I really, really enjoy that. I just want to spoil you a bit."

Ginny smiled at him. "You do spoil me. But I think that's a good idea. You're always telling me about those movie things, maybe we should try one of those?"

He grinned. "That's actually a good plan. Let's get dressed, we'll go out to lunch and then catch an afternoon movie."

She grinned mischievously at him, sliding her hand down his chest and lower before covering him with her hand so that his eyes crossed. "Then we'll come back and I'll have my wicked way with you again."

Harry chuckled and his breath hitched slightly. "I've created a monster."

Ginny laughed and moved so that she was on top of him, taking him deeply inside of her. "And you love every second of it."

Harry held her hips as she began to move, her hands up behind her hair and her breasts bouncing in front of him. "Oh, yeah!" Then he sat up, taking one of those bouncing breasts into his mouth; all thoughts of leaving the flat forgotten.

By the time they actually made it out of Harry's flat it was almost two in the afternoon. They had a quick lunch at a muggle café and then headed to the movies.

Ginny was completely fascinated by the moving pictures and the story it told. When it was over she was practically bouncing in excitement over it.

"Those are amazing! Daddy would love it! I need to take him to a show!" She exclaimed, licking the ice cream cone that Harry had bought her.

Harry slipped his arm over her shoulders and grinned. "Arthur would love it. That might be a fun time to see his reaction in there. Take him to a 3D movie, it will be a much better experience."

"What's 3D?" Ginny asked.

He grinned. "It's this technology where you have to put on these glasses and then the pictures on the screen seem to jump out at you."

"Oooh, that sounds brilliant! Can we go see one of those?" Ginny asked, smiling up at him.

Harry leaned down and took a bite out of her ice cream before kissing her softly. "Any time."

She lingered over the kiss for a moment before pulling away. "What time is it?"

Harry glanced down at his watch and sighed. "Almost six."

Ginny pouted. "I promised Mum I would be home for dinner."

Harry pulled her close and brought his forehead down to hers. "I don't want you to go."

Ginny moved into him, sitting her hands on his waist and tossing the wrapper of her ice cream cone into the garbage next to them. "I don't want to go."

"Every time I have to say goodbye to you it gets harder and harder. I don't want to do it anymore." He admitted. "I love you."

She smiled up at him and kissed his lips softly. "I love you. Harry … what are we going to do about this? Maybe we should just come clean about it."

"I've been thinking that too."

She bit her bottom lip. "Let's wait a little while longer."

"Until September? When you go back to school?"

"Yeah, do you think we're being selfish?" She asked.

"No fucking way!" Harry declared, tugging her close. "I love having you to myself way too much. In fact … when you go back to the Academy in September, I want you to move in with me."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed, stepping back.

He nodded. "You heard me. I'm in love with you, Ginny Weasley and someday soon I want to make that vow in front of those we love."

Ginny's eyes softened and she moved back into his arms, standing on her toes to kiss him passionately. "I'll gladly move in with you. I want to make that vow too."

He grinned. "You know … that's really going to give everyone the shock of their lives - oh, Ginny and I are dating and we're in love and moving in together with plans of getting married in the near future."

She laughed. "Mum's going to have a heart attack."

Harry grinned. "Ron's going to punch me in the face for deflowering his baby sister."

Ginny smirked at that. "I'll protect you." She kissed him again. "Oh, but I really have to go."

"In a minute," he said as he tugged her closer. "I'm very serious about that, Gin. I do want to marry you."

"I want to marry you, but I want a decent proposal first."

He laughed and kissed her. "I'll see what I can do. Oh, before you go, I, uh, I forgot to tell you something before when we were at the zoo, um … Sirius knows about us."

"WHAT? I thought we weren't telling anyone until September!" Ginny exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.

Harry shrugged. "He just knew! He said he knew I was seeing someone because apparently I can't lie."

"You can't lie, or at least not well. Why did you tell him it was me?"

"I didn't. As soon as I said I was seeing someone and that we'd been together since just after Christmas he just knew it was you. I told him I wasn't dating you and he just looked at me and said, 'I'm not a fucking idiot'. He says we're perfect for each other and he wondered why it was taking us so long to see that." He explained.

Ginny laughed, shaking her head. "Well, alright then. As long as he can keep his mouth shut for the rest of the summer."

"A month and a half - we can hope!"

She laughed and kissed him softly. "I've been pretty busy with Mum, helping her do the canning and what not but we are definitely going to have plans for your birthday. I'll write to you."

Harry tugged her back into his arms. "But my birthday's not for another five days. That's too long!" He pouted.

She grinned and kissed him. "Mmm, I know. I have to go though, really. I love you."

He nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets as he watched her back away to apparate. "I love you too."

She disappeared with a soft crack and he sighed. It just wasn't fair.

**Hermione** rolled her shoulders as she walked home from the corner store. It was a beautiful summer evening and she felt nauseous. It had been a week since she had discovered she was pregnant and since then she had been avoiding Ron.

She was terrified to tell him.

It didn't help that every word out of Ron's mouth since the summer had began was about Scarlett. She knew on some level that Ron loved her but she also wasn't stupid and realized how attractive Scarlett was. She sighed and kicked the stones out of the way in front of her before turning into the park. It was just starting to get dark outside and she felt like she needed to just sit on a swing and think.

She needed to think about her future.

She had already decided that having an abortion was too much for her to handle. If she came to the conclusion that she couldn't have the baby she would settle for adoption. She placed a hand over her flat stomach - but could she really give up the baby she and Ron had made together? Even if it was an accident?

Darkness consumed the park and she stared up at the moon, desperate for answers. She felt that she couldn't tell Ron what was going on until she understood it herself. The last thing she wanted was to ruin his life. After all, neither one of them had careers yet. If she were to tell him about the baby he would try to find a job to support her and he would stop his Auror training because it wasn't making enough money - she knew him too well.

A shadow fell over her and she looked up into the eyes of Donald Thornton.

"Hermione, I glanced out my window and saw you sitting out here alone, I thought I'd join you." He took a seat on the swing next to her and watched her.

"Hi Don. That's kind of you but I would really rather be alone right now."

He reached over and tapped her thigh. "Now, now, I'm just here to help. You know how much I care about you."

She sighed and bit her bottom lip. She had gone to dinner with him and explained to him that she was in love with someone else and that they were dating. He hadn't seemed to care. He was still hitting on her all the time and lately he had been talking about them getting married. She didn't know what else to do.

"Don, I'd like to be alone, thanks. If I needed help, I would ask my boyfriend."

His eyes flashed in anger now as he stood up. "I'm tired of your lies, Hermione!"

"What?"

He pulled her off the swing and gripped her shoulders tightly. "I'm tired of it! You belong with me and you know it! My parents know it! Your parents know it! We're going to get married and you better just get used to that fact!"

Hermione struggled in his embrace, real fear gripping her for the first time. She was so stupid. She had been so caught up in her own problems that she had left the house without her wand. After all, she was in the muggle world.

"Let go of me! I will never marry you, Don! How many times do I have to tell you?"

The slap sent her reeling and she fell back into the swing post. She crawled around a little disoriented at the double blow. She got to her feet and started to run but she only made it a couple of feet before he tackled her to the ground.

"You think you can just make a fool of me? I gave you everything! I showed you how much I loved you! I'm rich and I have everything to offer you and you throw it back in my face!" He ranted, pinning her arms down to the sand.

She was scared now. His eyes had turned dark and he looked different. He was ready to hurt her. She struggled in his grasp, crying out when he slapped her again.

"I'll scream if you don't stop," she whimpered.

Don simply grinned down at her. "Do it, you little bitch!"

When she started to scream he shoved his hand over her mouth and she bit it. He yelped and ripped his sock off, shoving it into her mouth as he pinned her arms down.

Oh my God! She thought, he's gone insane! When he started to pull off her shirt tears welled up in her eyes. This wasn't happening. She hadn't survived an entire magical war only to return home and get raped. It wasn't possible. She tried to get away from him, struggling and crying as her skirt was hiked up and her panties ripped off.

Then it dawned on her.

She was powerful enough to apparate without her wand.

She had never done it before, true. But she'd seen Harry do it a hundred times. She tried to focus her body but the pain was intense and nothing happened. She was sobbing now and when he forced himself into her she wanted to vomit.

_Focus_, she told herself. _Try not to think about the pain_. He was getting more into it, gripping her hips and clearly ready to climax. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her body, on moving it across time and space; on moving it somewhere safe. Then she felt the sucking feeling and landed haphazardly in the back alley behind Harry's flat; safety.

The tears continued to fall as she pulled the sock out of her mouth. She tugged her skirt down, sobbing at the blood there. Her shirt was pretty much ruined but she buttoned it back up, her lip quivering. Harry was the right person to come to. She couldn't stand it if Ron were to see her like this.

She hurried up the back stairs, afraid for people to see her and ran up the stairs. She knocked hesitantly on his door and waited for his reaction.

Harry heard the knock and carefully dried his hands on the dish towel. He had been attempting to cook himself some chicken but he wasn't sure it was working out to well. Ginny had given him a quick recipe but it looked more complicated than she had claimed. It was his birthday and Ginny was coming over any minute and he wanted to celebrate. He shut his stove off deciding it was a lost cause and headed to the door, hoping to con Ginny into cooking the chicken for him. When he tugged it open, his mouth dropped open.

"Hermione?"

She simply moved into his arms and started to cry.

Harry scooped her up and carried her into the common room. He took a seat on the love seat and cuddled her into his arms as she cried. It was only a few moments before she got control of herself.

"What the hell happened?" He demanded.

She carefully wiped the tears from her eyes. "I … can you take me to the hospital? Muggle."

He nodded and kissed her forehead softly. "Of course, but not until you tell me what happened to you?"

"Do you remember Donald Thornton? My neighbour?"

"The one who keeps hitting on you and refusing to leave you alone? Yeah, did he do this to you?"

She nodded. "I … I was in the park and he came over and was talking about us and I tried to tell him that there was nothing to tell; there was nothing between us and that I had a boyfriend and he got angry. God, Harry, I've never seen him so angry."

His eyes moved down her body to rest on the bruises forming on her thighs. "Did he rape you?"

Her gaze fell down to her hands. "I couldn't concentrate hard enough to apparate. I didn't have my wand, I know it was stupid but I was in the muggle world. I didn't have it and then I was so scared I couldn't focus. I just kept thinking if I got here, if I got to you, you would keep me safe. I managed to disappear before he … you know. But … he was still …" Tears began to roll down her cheeks again and Harry pulled her close.

"Shh, it's alright. It will be alright."

When she calmed down somewhat he pulled away to look at her. "I'll take care of you, okay? First things first, we're going to go to the hospital and you're going to get a rape kit. If this guy is a muggle he's going to be prosecuted the muggle way and therefore we need the police."

She shook her head, terror filling her eyes. "I can't see him again!"

Harry took her chin in his hand. "You won't. But you're going to do this because I know how brave you are. I know that when you calm down and get over the shock you will want him punished. I know this and you know it. Or you can have choice number two which is where I go straight to his house and I kill him."

"Harry!"

"Only options, Hermione. Pick one." He said, his voice dangerously calm.

She glared at him, her eyes angry now. "You can't just go around killing people! What is wrong with you?"

He grinned at her. "Nothing. There's that anger I was looking for."

She sighed. "You wanted me angry."

"I wanted you to stop being broken." He kissed her forehead again. "Come on, sweetheart. I'll get you some clothes of mine to wear for after the hospital."

Hermione nodded and stood up, her knees shaking a bit. "Harry, I … thank you."

He simply nodded at her. "I haven't done anything yet." Then he walked into his bedroom and she sighed. He really was the best friend she had ever had.

Harry headed into his bedroom and glanced at the clock. He had ten minutes until Ginny was supposed to arrive. He figured going to the Burrow was pointless as she had most likely already left. He scribbled a quick note to her on a spare piece of parchment.

_Gin,_

_ Something came up. I'll explain everything when I get back. When you hear someone coming, please go into the bedroom. I have to take Hermione somewhere and she will be coming back with me._

_ I'm sorry. Hopefully, I won't be too long._

_Love,_

_Harry_

He grabbed some clothes for Hermione to wear after they had checked her over in the hospital and grabbed a sweater for her to wear there. He took the note with him and put it on the kitchen table, checking to make sure his stove was off and then he ushered Hermione to come with him.

By the time they got to the hospital, the fear had gripped Hermione again. Harry didn't say anything more he simply took her hand and calmly explained to the woman at the front desk what she needed. He gave her a reassuring look when she was escorted by a nurse back into one of the rooms.

It didn't feel real.

She knew that it had happened but God it didn't feel real.

The nurse gave her a small smile and asked her to lie down on the bed and to take off her skirt and put on the hospital gown. She closed her eyes as she undressed and put the gown on.

"Did he ejaculate?" The nurse asked as Hermione made herself as comfortable as she could on the bed. "His semen would prove a valuable source for punishment."

Hermione shook her head. "No … I, I escaped before he could. I … I hit him and I ran."

The nurse nodded and asked her to spread her legs.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried not to think about the discomfort. Donald had gone crazy. She had met him when she was fifteen years old and while she had always thought he was a little odd and definitely not her type; she had never pictured that he could do anything such as this. Especially now of all times, when she had barely come to terms with the fact that she was pregnant.

Pregnant!

She sat up quickly, startling the nurse.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just … I just found out three days ago that I'm … I'm pregnant. Is the baby okay?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

The nurse smiled at her. "The trauma looks fairly minor. It seems you put up a good fight. But I'll go get an ultrasound machine and we'll take a look."

Hermione nodded as the nurse finished up and left her alone in the room. She was barely alone a minute when two police officers walked in.

"Good evening, ma'am. I'm Detective Landers and this here is my partner Detective Stevenson. We're here to take your statement about the crime that occurred. I'm sorry about what happened to you, Ms. Granger, but with your help we can put this scumbag behind bars."

She nodded. Harry was right about this. It made sense to do the whole thing the muggle way because Donald was a muggle and could be punished. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip carefully.

"It was my neighbour."

"You knew your attacker?" Detective Stevenson asked, his notepad in his hand.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. He's … he's been hitting on me off and on for close to three years. I always told him that we were just friends but since I came home for the summer his advances have become … worse."

Detective Landers' eyebrow rose. "What do you mean by worse?"

She swallowed carefully. "He's been appearing almost the moment I get within a two block distance from my home. He's consistently asking me out to dinner. About three weeks ago, I finally agreed to go out to dinner with him as a friend and at the dinner I calmly explained to him that I have a boyfriend who I love very much and that the two of us were nothing more than friends. He didn't seem to grasp that."

Detective Landers continued to write notes and Detective Stevenson nodded at her. "Now, I know it's going to be hard but can you go through your motions for the evening."

Hermione nodded and squeezed her hands together. "I … I had just found out I was pregnant a few days ago. I'm in love with my boyfriend but I just … I've been trying to think of how to tell him."

Both of the men smiled at her. "Understandable," Stevenson replied. "It's a big announcement."

"Yeah, it is. We're both still in school so I think that makes it a bigger one. I've been mulling it over all day. What my options are, what I can do, what I should do, how I should tell him. I had decided this morning that until I figured out how I felt that I wasn't going to tell him. When walking around my house didn't ease my anxiety I had decided to take a walk. I left around seven and I headed down to the ice cream store a few blocks from my house - Rose's? I bought a vanilla sundae and I ate it there. I'm not sure how long I sat there but by the time I started walking home it was beginning to get dark. I stopped in the park just at the end of my street and I sat on the swing. I was still deep in thought about what kind of decision I needed to make. Then Donald appeared in front of me."

"Donald?"

"Thornton. He surprised me. He said he had saw me from his window and thought I needed a friend. I told him that was kind of him but I just wanted to be alone for now and that if I had a problem I would discuss it with my boyfriend. He said I lied and then it's kind of a blur but he slapped me. I remember falling back and hitting my head on the swing post. I tried to run and he tackled me to the ground. I couldn't get up." She closed her eyes. "I … I got away before he could … before he could ejaculate but the damage was done."

Landers nodded at her as he continued to write down the notes. "Thank you Ms. Granger, we're going to go talk to this guy. But from what the nurse tells me we've got him cold. She's got pubic hairs and pictures of your bruising. Even without DNA, this guy's going away."

She nodded, tears in her eyes again. "Will I … will I have to testify?"

Stevenson leaned over and took her hand in his. "That won't come until later but that will be the lawyer's decision."

"Okay."

The nurse came back in with the ultrasound machine and smiled at the detectives. "Are you done so I can continue to treat my patient?" "Yes. Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Granger."

They left and the nurse grinned at her. "Handsome devils those two. Always hitting on the nurses whenever they come into the hospital."

Hermione managed a small smile.

"Speaking of handsome devils, that man of yours is pacing our lobby like an expectant father. Would you like for me to ask him to come in now?"

"NO!" She exclaimed, eyeing the ultrasound machine carefully. "I'm not … I'm not ready to tell anybody about this pregnancy yet."

The nurse nodded in understanding. "No problem, honey." She lifted up Hermione's gown and gently rubbed the gel-like substance on her stomach before applying the remote end of the machine. Her eyes moved to the screen and she let out a small smile. "Honey, you have a very healthy baby here from what I can see. Only just about two months along I see."

"The baby's okay?"

The nurse smiled at her. "Looks good to me. I'm going to have Dr. Murray come in and take a look just to double check."

Hermione smiled at that. "Alright. Thank you." She watched the nurse leave the room and she placed a comforting hand over her stomach. Her baby was fine. She was going to be fine. They were both going to be just fine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter V:**

**Harry** continued to pace the waiting room very impatiently. She had been in there for over an hour. What the hell were they doing to her in there? He glanced at his watch again and swore under his breath. If he ever laid eyes on this Thornton character he was going to beat the man to death. Just the thought of knowing that Hermione had been raped made him physically ill. It wasn't fair. As if the war hadn't been bad enough with Death Eaters rampaging and raping and murdering people left and right and now the war was over and in the muggle world one is forced to worry about rape. It was ridiculous.

He ran his hands over his chin and turned quickly when someone tapped him on the shoulder. To his surprise, it wasn't Hermione standing there but his cousin Dudley.

"Dudley?"

Dudley Dursley had definitely changed. Gone was the oversized boy who could barely fit through a doorframe and in his place was a tall, blonde, large man who looked to be made of muscle. He still wasn't small by all means but the fat was gone and it made a world of difference.

"Hi. I wasn't sure if it was you at first."

"You look fantastic!" Harry exclaimed, still quite taken aback by his cousin's change of appearance.

Dudley grinned at him. "Thanks. After you left, I just … I started to work out. I box, actually, and I'm getting pretty good at it. What are you doing here?"

"A friend of mine was injured. What are you doing here?"

Dudley looked over his shoulder and nodded to where to Harry's second surprise of the day was sitting. Petunia Dursley was wringing her hands together on a chair in the far corner of the waiting room. "Dad had a heart attack and they rushed him by ambulance just ten minutes ago. Mum's pretty worried."

Harry nodded, wondering what it meant for him that he didn't feel any remorse over that news. "Well, I hope it works out for him."

His cousin snorted. "I wouldn't if I were you."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked. There was no possible way that he had heard those words properly.

Dudley rolled his eyes. "We treated you like shit, Harry. Especially Dad … I'm surprised you're even talking to me right now."

Harry shrugged. "Well, they did take me in."

Dudley smiled at that. "Oh what saints!" When Harry laughed he grinned. "Listen, I've actually been trying to get a hold of you but I didn't know how. I wanted to apologize personally for everything that ever happened between us. You saved my life once and I know I thanked you before, the last time I saw you, but … well I would like to maybe try to be friends. But I would completely understand if you didn't want to see me again."

Harry eyed him carefully. "Is this coming from you or from you and your parents?"

He gave Harry a pained smile. "Unfortunately, just from me. Mum and Dad don't talk about you. In fact they act like you never existed in our home. I've brought you up a few times and my desire to look you up and I was told that in no uncertain terms was I ever to speak to that 'freak' ever again. But I don't think you're a freak. I know I don't know anything about you but I know that when you left you were off to do something pretty important and one day I would like to know what that was."

Harry smiled at him. He was surprised by this but at the same time he wasn't. He still clearly remembered that day at Privet Drive when Dudley had surprised him with his sudden goodbye and declaration that he strongly disagreed with his parents that Harry was a 'waste of space'. He was kind of proud of his cousin for stepping out of his parents' shadow and clearly growing up into a pretty decent young man.

"You know what, Dud, that would be great. I'm living in London actually, I bought a flat there and I have a telephone." He wrote down his number and handed it to his cousin. "Give me a ring and we'll go out to lunch or something. I'd really like to hear more about what you've been up to as well."

Dudley grinned at that. "Great." He glanced back at his mum. "I don't think I'm going to tell them about it."

Harry laughed at that. "That's fair. I really do hope Uncle Vernon is okay."

Dudley nodded at that. "Thanks."

"Harry?"

Harry turned at the sound of his friend's voice. "Hey, are you alright?"

Hermione nodded, eyeing Dudley carefully. "Yeah. Can we go?"

He nodded and draped his arm over her shoulders. "Definitely."

"Well, I'll talk to you later, Harry."

"Yeah, see you." Harry gave his cousin a quick smile and kissed Hermione's cheek. "Everything good? Some detectives came out to talk to me and I told them how you came to my flat all beat up. I gave them my telephone number incase there were any other questions."

She nodded and stopped outside the hospital doors, turning to snuggle into his embrace. "Thank you."

Harry held her close, his head resting on the top of hers. "Hey, there is nothing to thank. I'm just glad you came to me."

Hermione pulled back to look up at him. "I didn't think about it. I just apparated somewhere safe and that was you. I trust you with my life, Harry. And … I don't want Ron to know about this."

"Hermione-"

"No, don't talk just listen." She insisted. "I love Ron. I know he cares about me but I think you were wrong about Scarlett. He likes her, Harry. He talks about her twenty-four/ seven and he's always going on about stuff she's done. I know he cares about me but maybe we were wrong to start a relationship. He's not ready and he's too emotional. I knew I could count on you to not jump off the wagon and kill the man who did this to me."

"I'd like to."

She smiled at that. "I know you would but that's where you and Ron differ. You took the time to make sure I was alright. To get me angry enough to make the right decisions. Ron would have simply attacked him and yes he would have been there for me but only after the fact."

"Hermione, are you thinking of breaking up with Ron?" Harry asked, eyeing his friend carefully. He wasn't sure that he liked where this conversation was going.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, Harry's t-shirt clearly too big for her small frame. "I don't know. I want to see where we're going. I want to see if I'm reading too much into this Scarlett situation. But I don't want him to see me like this."

Harry nodded in understanding. She was right. Ron would flip out and Harry couldn't fault him for that. If it was his girlfriend he would flip out too. Hermione was bad enough. He could see how not telling Ron was in their best interest. "We can call Ginny over to my flat and she can heal those bruises with her learned healer skills?" He offered, hoping that she was still at his flat despite his lateness.

She smiled at him. "If we're doing it the muggle way then I have to heal the muggle way. What if those detectives come over to ask me more questions and I'm completely healed?"

"Point. So, do you want to come back to my flat?" He asked.

Hermione looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet. "Actually … can I stay with you for a while?"

"Hey, you don't even have to ask. As long as you need to."

She grinned up at him. "You're the best."

He laughed at that and slipped his arm around her. "I know. You can compliment me later."

Hermione smiled as they walked back around the corner so that they could disapparate. He really was her best friend and she knew that he deserved a lot of thanks for this. She only hoped that she could find it in herself to repay him.

Harry unlocked the door to his flat ten minutes later and ushered her inside. His bedroom door was closed and he hoped that meant Ginny was in there.

"I have a guest room all set up, Hermione. Why don't you go take a long bath or shower and we'll get you settled in?"

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"No problem. Tomorrow we'll get some of your stuff from home."

She nodded as she stepped inside the guest room and then she froze. "Oh Harry, I'm sorry - today's your birthday!"

"Hey, no apologizing. I think what you went through qualifies as more important. It's late. I'm going to go to bed. Make yourself at home."

"Goodnight, Harry and happy birthday!"

He grinned at her. "Goodnight Hermione." He closed the guest room door behind him and he headed towards his own bedroom. He pushed open his bedroom door and his eyes lit up when he saw Ginny curled up on his bed in one of his Quidditch jerseys fast asleep. He undressed and crawled into bed next to her, pulling her under the covers and snuggling her close, kissing her forehead.

"Mmm," she murmured, snuggling against his chest. "Harry?"

"Hi baby."

Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled up at him, concern in her eyes. "Where were you? What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. I'm sorry, I wasn't here."

"Is Hermione alright?" She asked.

He nodded and kissed her nose. "I think so. I promised I wouldn't say anything but she was … injured. I took her to the muggle hospital and she's alright but she's going to stay with me for a while. She doesn't want Ron to know what happened."

Ginny nodded. "Okay. Is she in the guest room?"

"Yeah."

Ginny grinned and kissed him softly. "I guess we'll have to keep it down."

"I accept that challenge."

She giggled when his hands slid under the jersey she wore to find her naked beneath. "I took it from your dresser."

"Well, I guess I better take it back."

She bit her lip to keep from laughing as he rolled with her on the bed. "Happy Birthday Harry."

He grinned and kissed her. "Thanks."

**By** the end of the week, Hermione was more or less moved in with Harry. She spoke to her parents on the phone and simply explained to them that she was staying with a friend for a while. She didn't think she was ready yet to tell them that she had been raped by Donald Thornton, the man that they actually thought was quite perfect for her. Harry had been nice enough to go to her house and get her things. She knew it was stupid but she didn't want to be anywhere near the area where it had happened and sadly that included her childhood home.

Since it had happened, she had also been avoiding Ron. She answered his owls but she kept it short and not very informative and she could tell that he was getting a little frustrated with her. She didn't want him to have any idea about what happened to her. She hadn't even told him that she was staying with Harry and she had asked Harry not to say anything either. She also didn't know what to do about the pregnancy issue.

The only thing she did know was that she only had about a month and a half to two months before she would start showing. And it scared her to death that it was coming up so fast.

August had already hit and while her bruises had healed, she hadn't.

Harry had been acting weird around her as well, secretive. He had been going out without telling her where and she was positive that someone else had been in his bedroom with him but he wouldn't tell her who. It was driving her crazy. But it did give her something to focus on instead of her worries.

Now she was supposed to be getting ready to go to the Burrow for the first time since everything had happened for Ginny's birthday. She wasn't sure if she could face everyone or if she could face Ron. She was still a little sore and her face was still bruised from where she had been slapped. But she wanted to see Ron.

She had to see him before she saw him in front of everyone. It was the only way she would be alright.

"Harry, I need to run Ron's flat real quick. I'll meet you at the Burrow."

Harry poked his head out of his bedroom as he yanked a t-shirt over his head. "Alright. See you there."

She hurried down into the staircase at the end of the hall in the building and disapparated into the staircase in Ron's building. She stood outside of his door for a moment.

This was it.

She was going to tell him.

_Ron, I'm having a baby. _

_ Our baby. _

_ Okay?_

She sighed … she just had to do it.

She was about to knock and then thought to hell with it; she was his girlfriend and opened the front door. Ron was pushed back against the wall in the common room by Scarlett and she was standing so close to him that they were touching everywhere. Her breath hitched in her throat and she disapparated on the spot back to Harry's building.

She ran back into the flat and Harry's eyebrow rose in surprise. "Well, that was fast."

He saw the tears and grabbed her arm before she could rush past him. "Hey, what happened?"

"He's with Scarlett. I have to go."

"Go? Go where? Hermione, you can't have seen that right, come on, talk to me!" Harry insisted as he watched her grab her wand and pack everything up into her bag. "Where are you going?"

She swallowed and looked up at him for a moment. "Thank you for everything, Harry but right now I just need to go. I need to … I just need to go. I don't know when I'll be back. Don't look for me."

Then she disapparated on the spot and left Harry standing there dumbfounded.

**Harry** arrived in the backyard of the Burrow a little nervous. He had barely spoken to Ginny since everything had happened with Hermione because he was too afraid he would slip up. Sirius was right about that, he was a terrible liar. Now Hermione had left and he had a feeling it was for good. He wasn't sure why or what was going on but the only thing he did know was that he was going to have to have a good talk with Ron Weasley.

To his good luck Ron arrived seconds after he did.

"Hey Harry! How's it - bloody hell!" He exclaimed when Harry's fist connected with his face. "Fuck, Harry! What the bloody hell was that for?"

"What the fuck are you doing fooling around with Scarlett?"

Ron held his bleeding nose to his face. "I'm not!"

"Don't lie to me! Hermione said she saw you with her just now before the party!"

"What? She was at my flat, but we were practicing some moves. At one point she got a little too close for comfort but I told her to back off and she did. Hermione thinks I'm cheating on her?" Ron asked, staring at Harry in shock.

Harry rolled his eyes. "She thinks so, yeah and now she's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone? Gone where?" Ron demanded, taking out his wand and healing his nose.

"I don't know, Ron! All I know is that because of you she left and all she said is 'don't look for me.' I think she's gone, gone and I have no idea if she will ever come back!"

"Come off it, she's coming back! She's got that internship at the Ministry, she's not going to give that up!"

Harry shook his head. She had given it up. He had seen the letter she had written to the Ministry politely asking to be removed from the program. It had worried him and he had planned to ask her why she was giving up her dream but she had still looked so delicate.

"She already did."

"What do you mean she already did? How do you know all of this and I know nothing?" Ron demanded.

Harry glared at him now. "Maybe if you opened your goddamned eyes you would see what the fuck your girlfriend has been going through!"

"What's the supposed to mean?" Ron yelled back at him. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT HERE?" Ginny yelled, pushing her way in between them.

Harry simply picked her up and moved her out of the way. "We're having a discussion at the top of our lungs, go away, Gin."

"No," she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "Today is my birthday and you two will stop yelling at each other like idiots right this instant!"

Ron glared at her and then simply ignored her and turned to Harry. "She's not gone."

Harry rolled his eyes now. "She is gone! Fuck it, Ron don't you see anything? Haven't you noticed how strange she's been acting over the last week and a half? Didn't you realize something was wrong with her?"

"No, she's been avoiding me! That's all I know!"

"Maybe there was a reason for that! She moved in with me!"

Ron's eyes darkened now. "She moved in with you?"

"Yeah, she did because she was too afraid to go home!" Harry exclaimed. "She showed up on my doorstep bleeding and bruised after being attacked by her neighbour who she's been complaining about to you."

"What do you mean attacked?" Ron asked, his voice calm now and little dangerous sounding."

Harry closed his eyes, knowing that Hermione would never forgive him for revealing what he was about to say. "She was raped, Ron. She didn't want you to know. She finally was going over to explain to you what had happened to her and why she had been avoiding you and she saw you in the arms of Scarlett. You just had to be an asshole!" He raised his fist again to hit Ron and Ginny grabbed it.

"Baby, don't! Ron's hurt enough."

"What the hell is going on out here?" Bill Weasley declared, coming up around the three of them. "And what do you mean by 'baby,' Gin?"

Harry ignored Bill and turned back to Ron. "I don't think he's hurt nearly enough. Hermione has been having nightmares and getting sick because she's not sleeping. I don't think he's hurt enough at all. Not after what he did to her."

"Fuck you, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, his eyes darkening now. "She's my girlfriend! If she was hurting and didn't come to me about it that's not my fault! You can't blame me for something I didn't know about! She refused to tell me and hid it from me! I was giving her the space she needed because when you corner her we both know she doesn't talk! So how do you get off telling me that I did this to her?"

Ginny shoved Ron away from Harry. "Ron! That's enough, both of you! You two are best friends and you will work this out! It's not either one of your faults that Hermione left. Something terrible happened to her and she made the decision to leave. She'll come back when she's ready. Now apologize to each other. Now!"

Harry grinned at her. She was beautiful when she was fired up and angry. He glanced back behind him to where the entire Weasley family had gathered to watch the argument between Harry and Ron. His eyes moved back to an angry Ginny who was telling Ron to apologize and he thought September was too damn far away. Waiting was too far away. If this thing with Hermione had taught him anything it was that keeping secrets wasn't a good solution because it only hurt those around him.

He was going to stop keeping secrets.

"Ron, I'm sorry for blaming you." Ron's eyes met his and he nodded. "I am sorry. I'm just so angry that I let her leave, but I was so surprised by the sudden decision that I had no way of stopping her."

Ron nodded. "I'm sorry too."

Harry smiled at him. "Ron, I'm also sorry for keeping such a huge secret from you."

"Hermione didn't want me to know, I can't fault you for that. She has a way of persuading people to do what she wants."

Harry nodded. "I know, but that's not the secret I was talking about." He reached out and pulled Ginny up against him, lowering his head and taking her mouth with hers.

"Oh," Bill said quietly. "That's what she meant by baby."

Ginny ignored her brother and sank into Harry, grinning against his mouth as he kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth and really making the kiss a good one.

He pulled away slowly and licked his lips, "Happy Birthday, love."

Ron's fist connected with Harry's face and he fell back onto the ground, his glasses falling off and Ginny threw herself over Harry's body.

"Ron! Don't you dare touch him!"

Chaos erupted around them as the Weasleys all crowded around and Ginny tugged Harry to his feet. She whistled loudly so that everyone would stop talking.

"Now, that wasn't the way that Harry and I had planned to make that announcement, but we did. Harry and I are a couple and we've been a couple since just after Christmas."

"Christmas?" Bill asked, still kind of in shock.

Ginny nodded. "Yes and I'm moving in with him when school starts back up."

"Ginny!" Molly exclaimed. "Why on earth didn't you tell us?"

Bill grinned now. "Isn't it obvious? They wanted privacy."

Harry spoke now, his hand seeking Ginny's. "Because we didn't want you to know and yes we wanted privacy." He turned to smile at Ginny. "Ginny, I love you. I don't just want you to move in with me. Will you marry me?"

The whole backyard had gone dead silent and then Ginny shrieked and threw herself into Harry's arms. "Yes!" She kissed him softly and as the congratulations erupted around them she whispered into his ear. "Now THAT was a decent proposal."

He grinned and kissed her. "Whatever you say, babe, but you're mine now!"

She smiled at that. "For now and for always."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter VI:**

_Twelve Years Later …_

**"Rose?** Can you grab that last box from the backseat?" Hermione called out as she placed the items in her hand on the counter of her new kitchen.

It had been twelve years since she had last been in London and yet the memories still swamped her. To this day she still was unsure if she had made the right decision in leaving. She had utterly vanished that day from Harry's flat and she hadn't looked back.She knew that she had hurt those she loved by making that decision to leave but it was for the best.

It had been for the best for her and for her daughter.

"Mum, can we have pizza tonight?" Rose asked as she placed the box on the kitchen table. "I'm starving!"

Hermione smiled and pulled her daughter into her arms, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "What else is new. You just ate two hours ago."

Rose shrugged and grinned cheekily up at her mother. "But I'm hungry again."

Hermione laughed as she gently ran her fingers through her daughter's bright red bushy curls. "Imagine that. Yes, we can order pizza. There's a granola bar in my purse if you want it and then you can go upstairs and start unpacking."

"Excellent!"

Hermione smiled to herself as she watched her daughter grab the granola bar and head up the stairs. She had turned eleven years old on February 23rd and Hermione had known exactly what that would mean for her baby girl. She also knew that if she wanted that to happen for her she would have to come home.

So she had packed up their tiny flat and bought a small house in London. It had three small bedrooms, a small kitchen, one tiny bathroom and a common room. But it had a backyard. Hermione had been dreaming of a backyard for quite a long time. Living in Australia had been a decision she hadn't taken lightly. She had enrolled herself in night school there and become a muggle lawyer, leaving all traces of the magical word behind. She had even locked away her wand and her books in a storage facility here in London.

She hadn't wanted to be found.

She hadn't wanted anyone to know what she had done.

Irene and Roger Granger had been the only people to know about where she was and what had happened. It had been Roger who had found the little house for her and Rose. Her parents had been lifesavers; especially when they had found out about what Donald had done to her.

She shook the thoughts from her head. Right now she needed to unpack and then she needed to have a quiet sit down chat with her daughter about her past. Including her new school. If her calculations were right, a letter would be arriving for Rose within the next few days.

She turned on the radio and hummed along with the music as she began to unpack. There were quite a few things that they needed to talk about.

**Harry **snuggled deeper under the blankets at the feel of movement on the bed. He didn't want to get up. He wanted to stay deep in the warmth and lounge the day away.

"Daddy!"

Fat chance.

"Daddy, wake up!" A soft voice called out.

"Don't want too."

A childish giggle erupted in his ear and he smiled, snaking an arm out to tug his youngest child into his arms. Lorelai giggled again and laughed when he rubbed his stubbly face over her cheek.

"Hi Daddy."

"Hi sweetie. Did Mummy send you up here?"

"Yup." She exclaimed.

He sighed and kissed her cheek. "Alright, I'll be down in a minute."

She grinned up at him, making him laugh. She was the spitting image of her mother and in his opinion utterly adorable. She had the bright red fiery hair that was a deeper, richer colour than most of the Weasleys had and it was pure curls. She had her mother's chocolate brown eyes and just a sprinkling of five or six freckles over her nose. At three years old, she was his baby.

He watched her bounce out of the room before he got up and stretched. He grabbed a tee shirt from his drawer and slipped it over his head before going to wash up. He padded down the stairs of their home and smiled at the sight of Ginny cutting up waffles for Lorelai.

Harry slid his arm around her waist and turned her to kiss her deeply. "Morning."

"Morning," she said back. "I thought you were going to be down an hour ago."

He grinned. "Sorry, I fell back asleep. You should have woken me."

Ginny grinned at him. "You needed it. You were up late last night."

He shrugged and poured himself a cup of tea before taking a seat next to his daughter at the table. "Where are the rest of the kids?"

"Should be in here any minute. They were playing outside."

As if on cue, his five other children padded into the kitchen laughing. It still blew his mind to realize that he was a father of six. He and Ginny had been married for twelve years. Neither one of them had been willing to wait long after they had blown the news about their secret affair. They had married two months later in October and by December, Ginny had been pregnant with their first child. A child that had turned out to be triplets.

"Hi Dad," James exclaimed, sitting next to his father. "Can we go to the Quidditch store later today?"

"I don't think so. We're going to the Burrow today. We can go tomorrow," Harry replied as he watched his eldest son take a huge scooping of waffles.

Ginny placed her hand on her husband's shoulder and handed him the mail with a smile on her face. "Today."

Harry grinned now and sure enough there were three envelopes there for their eldest children: James Remus Potter, Sirius Brigham Potter and Lily Emma Potter. "Well, guys, it looks like you're getting an early birthday present."

"They came?" Lily exclaimed, a bright smile on her face.

Harry grinned and handed her her letter. "They sure did."

James, Brigham and Lily all opened their envelopes and high-fived each other. "We're going to Hogwarts!" James shouted.

"No yelling," Ginny said, leaning down to kiss James' cheek. "I'm so proud of you." She kissed Brigham next and then moved to her daughter.

Harry shrugged. "I'm not looking forward to this. You mean I have to put up with you guys at work now too? Not fair."

Brigham laughed and hugged his dad. "It will be awesome!"

Harry hugged his children back and grinned. "Congrats, guys! I guess we'll have to make a trip to Diagon Alley and get some supplies."

"I want to go!" Aidan exclaimed, crossing his arms in front of him in disappointment.

Ginny smiled at their son. "Aidan honey, you'll get to go. You just have to wait two more years."

Flynn elbowed Aidan and grinned. "Then I'll get to go and then Lore."

"Exactly." Ginny replied. "Now eat up your breakfast. We have to get to the Burrow or Grandma's going to think we're not coming!"

**Hermione** stared at the letter in her hands as she waited patiently for Rose to come downstairs for breakfast. It had arrived and she had yet to even explain anything to her daughter. She picked up her wand and got breakfast moving for the day, the magic flowing into her brought back memories.

She had picked up all of her magic stuff yesterday afternoon but she hadn't been able to bring herself to use it right away. She had cut herself off from the magical world and now she was about to be thrown right back in.

She had even been considering applying to the Ministry of Magic but had thought better of it. She wasn't quite ready to completely turn back the clock.

Hermione ran her hand over the loopy writing on the envelope in dark green ink.

_Rosalind Ginevra Granger_

_75 Apple Lane_

_London_

Rose skipped into the kitchen and grinned at her mother. "Morning Mum!" She took a seat at the table and then her eyes widened when she realized her plate of scrambled eggs was floating towards her. "Mum, look!"

Hermione smiled and sat the plate in front of her daughter. "I know. Rosie, we need to talk."

"About the plate? Mum it was floating! I didn't do it this time either!"

"I know, sweetie." Hermione took a deep breath. "Rose, honey, do you remember when you first started making things float and I told you that it was because you were a very special girl?"

"Yeah. You said you would explain what that meant when I was older."

"Well, now is the time for that to be explained." She handed her daughter the letter and Rose looked at it in curiousity before she carefully broke the seal.

_Dear Ms. Granger:_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_ Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Severus Snape_

_Deputy Headmaster_

"What?"

Hermione laughed. "You reacted pretty similar to me. You're a witch, Rose."

"A witch? Like the green one from the _Wizard of Oz_?"

"No. A good witch like that of the three fairy godmothers in _Sleeping Beauty._ I'm a witch too and you're father was a wizard."

Rose's eyes lit up then. "My dad? What was his name?"

Hermione shook her head sadly. She knew her daughter was desperate for information on her father but she just wasn't ready to talk about Ron yet. "I'm sorry, Rose, but I'm still not going to tell you that. Look, you're going to have a great time at this school. You'll learn more what it means to be able to make things float and you'll get a magic wand like this." Hermione held up her own wand and Rose's eyes widened.

"Ooh, where do I get one of those?"

"In Diagon Alley. We'll head there tomorrow."

Rose just nodded. "I'm really a witch?"

Hermione laughed and walked around the table to kiss her daughter's cheek. "Yes, you are."

"Wow." Rose replied. "I can't wait to tell Grandma and Grandpa!"

Hermione laughed. "Alright, well eat up then and we'll go over and tell them right now."

Rose just grinned and got to work on her scrambled eggs but every once in a while she would stop and open the letter back up, a small smile on her face.

**Rose **was in awe of Diagon Alley. Hermione couldn't help but smile as she watched her baby's girl face light up at the sight of everything. They went to Gringott's first and exchanged muggle money for wizarding money before they started to go through the things on the list.

"Mum, can I have a pet like it says you can in the letter?" Rose asked as she stared at the window for the owl emporium.

Hermione smiled and slipped her arm around her daughter. "I think that's a great idea. I think it would be good if you had an owl that way you can write home to me often and tell me of your adventures and what you're learning."

Rose grinned. "Excellent!"

Ten minutes later, Rose had a black owl with a white tail who she had decided to name Iago after her favourite movie character of all time, the non-Shakespearean annoying red parrot from Disney's _Aladdin_.

"We need to get you fitted for school robes now, Rose. Let's head into Madam Malkins." Hermione led her inside and sighed a bit at the line of students ahead. "Rose, you can look around at the different choices of socks and scarves and sweaters and decide what you want. I'm going to be in line here for the robes, alright?"

Rose nodded and skipped off, leaving all of her purchases with her mother. She wrinkled her nose at the selection of sweaters as her eyes moved over the red and gold, the green and silver, yellow and blue, etc. How was she supposed to know if she didn't have a school house yet? She headed over to the shoes just as a tiny girl with jet black curls down to her bum grinned at her. She had almond shaped bright green eyes and a crooked grin.

"Hi! The shoes kind of suck, eh? I love shoes! Daddy always says I have more shoes than all the people in China. I'm Lily!"

Rose smiled at her. "I'm Rose."

"Brilliant, we're both flowers - it must be fate!"

Rose grinned. "Are you a first year too?"

Lily nodded and rolled her eyes. "Yeah! My brothers are as well. They're around here somewhere causing trouble I imagine."

Rose giggled. "I don't have any brothers or sisters. Do they cause trouble a lot?"

"Do they? Boy oh boy! Sometimes I think Mum and Daddy will lock them away and tie them up! They'd deserve it! Only this morning, James locked my younger brother Aidan in the loo and used Daddy's wand to turn him blue while Brigham hung Flynn upside down outside the window with Mum's broomstick! I thought Mum was going to murder them!" Lily explained.

Rose laughed. "That sounds kind of dangerous!"

Lily shrugged. "It probably was. "

Hermione appeared next to them and smiled, "Rose, you're just about next in line, sweetie, come on."

"Mum, this is Lily. She's a first year too!" Rose exclaimed.

Hermione turned and then paled when she took in the sight of the beautiful little girl with her hand out politely waiting to be shook. She was the spitting image of Harry. The eyes, the hair colour, that grin - it was her best friend to a tee.

Was Harry here?

God, she wasn't ready to face him yet.

She wasn't ready to admit to him that she had ran away with Ron's baby.

That she had returned.

It was too soon.

"Rose, let's go."

Lily glanced at her quizzically. "I'll save you a seat on the train, Rose!"

Rose grinned. "Thanks!"

Hermione's lip quivered and she held Rose's hand tighter. "Come on, Rose, we have to go."

"But Mum my robes?"

"No, I'll fix them at home. Come on."

It was only thirty minutes later when she was sitting in her own kitchen that she was able to catch her breath. Harry had a daughter the same age as Rose. How was that even possible?

Then another thought crossed her mind.

Who on earth was the mother?

**"Lily!** There you are," Harry exclaimed, pulling his daughter away from the shoes. "I already bought you five pairs."

She grinned and batted her lashes at him. Harry was ashamed to admit that it turned him to mush. Lily had him wrapped around her finger and he was terribly afraid that Lorelai had adopted the same skill. "Just one more pair?"

Harry sighed. He was putting his foot down. "No. Now come on, James and Brigham have already been fitted for their robes now it's your turn."

"I made a friend, Daddy."

Harry smiled at that. "Oh yeah, that's great."

"Her name was Rose and I told her I would save her a seat on the train. She has bright red bushy hair and hazel eyes. Her mum was kind of strange though."

"What do you mean by that, Lily?" He asked.

Lily shrugged as she stood up on the stool for Madam Malkin. "I don't know. She was nice and then when she looked at me all the colour left her face. She kind of reminded me of that picture you have in your study of you with Uncle Ron and your friend from school. She looked the same."

Harry's heart pounded a bit at those words. It couldn't be that Hermione was back, could it?

"Hmm, well I'm sure it was something else entirely. Now stand still so you can be measured. We still have quite a bit of shopping left to get through. If I come home with too much stuff your mum is going to be unimpressed."

Lily just grinned and let herself be measured. Shopping was one of her favourite things to do so she was very alright with that. Besides, she knew she could most likely con her father into one more pair of shoes before they left.

**Ginny** took a seat on the chesterfield next to Harry and handed him a cup of tea later on that evening. "You've been awfully quiet all day. Did Lily's shopping craze traumatize you?"

He grinned and accepted the cup from her. "No, I already knew she was crazy, I mean she takes after you." When Ginny smirked at him he continued. "Something she said today has been bothering me."

She glanced at him quizzically and curled her legs under her, leaning back against the arm of the chesterfield with her tea in both hands. "What do you mean?"

Harry shrugged and placed his cup on the table. "Rose? That girl she was talking about when we came home?"

"What about her?" Ginny asked. "I think it's great that she already made a new friend."

"No, not that. I'm happy for her about that as well it's just … she said her friend's mum showed up and acted strange."

Ginny's eyebrow rose. "Strange how?"

"I don't know. She paled and told Rose they were going home when she saw Lily. But … Lily said that Rose's mum looked like Hermione."

"Hermione?" Ginny breathed in surprise. "You think she's back?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. It's strange right? I mean, Lily's never met her but I have that picture of Ron, Hermione and I in the study and … I'm being crazy."

Ginny placed her tea on the table and moved closer to her husband to massage his shoulders. "You're not being crazy. We've all wondered what happened to Hermione. Where she went? Why she left? I'm sure Lily was just seeing things. I think that if Hermione was to come back there would be a reason and we would know about it."

"You're right."

"I'm always right," she teased, kissing his cheek. She lay her own cheek against her husband's shoulder. "I can't believe our babies are starting school tomorrow."

Harry smirked. "I'm worried about how much trouble they're going to cause."

Ginny laughed at those words and entwined her hand with his. "Don't remind me." She stood up and grabbed her tea. "I'm going to go curl up into bed and read for a bit. Are you going to come?"

"Depends. If I join you will you still be reading?" He asked, his eyes twinkling at her.

She grinned and shrugged. "That depends on what you have to trade." She winked at him and sauntered out of the common room.

Harry's eyes followed her behind as she moved and he grinned. It was stupid to worry about something he hadn't even seen. Lily was probably wrong, after all she had never even met Hermione. He took a gulp of his tea and stood up.

He definitely had plans that could be traded and he followed his wife upstairs.

**Finally** it was the first of September and Rose had barely slept the night before. She was going to magic school that was so exciting she could barely breathe and she had already met a friend. She hurried into her mother's room and jumped on the bed.

"Mum, I'm going to Hogwarts today!"

Hermione rolled over and smiled at her daughter. She remembered how excited she had once been at the thought of going to magic school. "Yes, you are. Are you all packed? Everything is loaded in the trunk we bought?"

Rose nodded. "Yes, can we go now?"

Hermione laughed. "First we're going to eat breakfast."

Thirty minutes later they had eaten and were ready to go. They took the tube to King's Cross Station and Hermione pulled the ticket out for the train.

"I don't see it, Mum!" Rose declared, looking around desperately.

"See what?"

"Platform nine and three quarters!"

Hermione smiled and leaned down closer to her daughter. "It's hidden. We're going to walk through that brick wall over there."

Rose's eyes widened. "No!"

"Yes." Hermione said with a smile. She took her daughter's hand in hers and holding the trunk on the cart, they slowly slid through the barrier and onto the platform.

"There it is, the Hogwarts Express!"

Rose stared up at it in awe. "Wow!"

Hermione grinned and tugged her daughter close to her. "I have to go, honey. The train leaves in fifteen minutes, will you be alright?"

"Of course!"

She hugged her tighter and kissed her cheek. "I love you sweetheart! Write to me!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, Mum! I love you!"

Hermione watched her daughter head off towards the train, dragging the trunk behind her on its wheels and she sighed. She just hoped everything would turn out alright.

Rose found a doorway for the train and turned to look at her trunk wondering how she was supposed to get it on the train. A tall boy with a bright red hair, freckles and glasses came forward and grinned at her.

"Hi, need some help with that?"

She nodded. "Yes, please!"

He grinned and lifted the trunk up onto the train looking for an empty compartment. Rose saw Lily and held her hand up. "Hey, this one here!"

The boy grinned and stowed the trunk up for her. "Here you go."

"Thank you."

Lily grinned at the boy. "Thanks Jimmy."

"No problem, Lils. Hope you get into Gryffindor!"

She grinned. "Me too! Did Uncle George give you anything new? Because no matter what James and Brig say, Mum says if you give them anything she'll hunt you down!"

Jimmy laughed. "I'd like to see her try. Dad will protect me from Aunt Ginny. See you!"

He headed out and Rose took a seat next to Lily. "Who was that?"

"My cousin. He's a third year and in Gryffindor. His name is actually Jameson but everyone calls him Jimmy. Are you excited?" Lily asked, tucking her curly hair behind her ears.

Rose nodded. "Yeah and nervous."

Lily grinned. "No reason to be nervous. Daddy always says that every house is a great one and the hat chooses which one it thinks you should be in but you can choose in the end."

"You can choose?" Rose asked. "My mum said the hat wanted to put her in Ravenclaw but changed its mind."

Lily nodded. "Daddy said when he was waiting for the hat it wanted to put him in Slytherin but he had heard bad things about Slytherin so he asked to be in Gryffindor because he had heard good things so that's where he went. Daddy grew up as a muggle and didn't know he was a wizard until he got his letter."

"Me too! My mum's a witch but she kept it a secret all these years!" Rose exclaimed. "I don't know why."

"That's strange. So Rose, I never did get your last name. What is your full name anyway? I'm Lily Emma Potter."

Rose smiled. "Rosalind Ginevra Granger."

"Ginevra, really? That's my mum's name."

"That's funny. I didn't think it was a very popular name."

Lily grinned. "It only proves my point that we were meant to meet! Potter and Granger, friends forever."

The door opened up and two boys stood there. One was a little taller than the other one but they both had the same jet-black hair as Lily except on them it was sticking up in every which direction and seemed to have a reddish tint to it. One of them had the same green eyes as Lily and the other had a deep chocolate brown for eyes. They were obviously her brothers.

"Hi Lils, Jimmy told us you were telling him to not give us any WWW stuff?" Brigham replied, eyeing his sister carefully. "So not fair."

James nodded next to him. "Yeah, we got to have some fun!"

"Daddy's going to be watching you, you know. He is a professor!"

James shrugged. "Like Dad didn't get into trouble at school! According to Uncle Ron, he and Dad were in detention like every week!"

Brigham nodded. "Yeah and besides, we were only going to play a prank on Louis!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Rose, these two prats are my brothers. We're triplets, but I honestly don't know where they came from."

James grinned at Rose. "She loves us. I'm James Potter."

"Brig Potter."

"Nice to meet you," Rose said.

They laughed and then closed the door behind them.

"Dunderheads!" Lily exclaimed. "Louis is my other cousin. He's the same age as us."

"You sure do have a lot of cousins." Rose replied kind of sad that she didn't have any cousins. "I don't have any at all. My mum is an only child."

"What about your dad?" Lily asked.

Rose shrugged. "I don't know who my dad is."

"That's sad! My dad is the best and I would be very sad if I didn't know him. I have lots and lots of cousins. My mum is the youngest of seven! First there's my uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur and they have Henry who is a third year; Phil a second year; Louis is just starting this year with us. Then there's Will who is one year younger than us and then Amberlynn who is seven. Then comes my Uncle Charlie and Aunt Emma and they have Rob who is ten and Kalen who is eight. Then comes my Uncle Percy and Aunt Penny who have Preston and Paul who are fifth years; Scott who is in second year and then Travis who is nine. Then comes my Uncle Fred and Aunt Angelina who have Blake who is a third year; Chris who is starting with us; and then his twin girls who are eight Freddie and Georgia. Then there's Uncle George and Aunt Katie who have Jimmy who's in third year; Tyler who is in second year; Matt who is nine; and Nate who is six. My Uncle Ron doesn't have any kids. Mum says the Weasleys love to have children."

"That's a lot of kids! You must have a lot of fun when you all get together."

Lily nodded. "Yeah, but there's not a lot of girls which isn't fair in my opinion. Amberlynn is the closest to my age everyone else is boys! It's just me Amberlynn, Freddie, Georgia, and Lorelai."

"Who's Lorelai?" Rose asked.

"My baby sister."

Rose's eyes widened. "There's more than just you, James, and Brig?"

Lily laughed. "Oh, yeah! There's me, James, and Brig who are triplets; then there's my brother Aidan who's nine; Flynn who's seven; and then my baby sister Lorelai who's three. We have a big family full of Potters and Weasleys. Mum's the only Weasley girl."

Rose grinned. "Wow! It's me and my mum and my grandparents. Small."

Lily laughed. "Much smaller than mine!"

Rose smiled at that. "I noticed earlier too you said your dad was a professor?"

Lily nodded. "Yup! He teaches Transfiguration. Aunt Minerva asked him to teach at Hogwarts. He used to play seeker for Puddlemere United but you can't play Quidditch forever."

"What's Quidditch?"

Lily grinned at those words. "Rose, you have so much to learn!"

**Harry** sat up at the head table in between Sirius and Snape. He figured it was best to be a buffer between them even after all these years. The two of them had mellowed some but neither one of them seemed to be willing to make peace.

Snape was Deputy Headmaster now and McGonagall had taken over as Headmistress when Dumbledore had died back in Harry's sixth year. Harry had saved Snape's life from Voldemort when he had been seventeen and after learning how much Snape had helped him on his journey for the horcruxes and how much Snape had loved his mother, Harry had forgiven him. They were even friends to some extent now. Though Snape still tended to sneer when he looked in Harry's direction.

Sirius had taken the plunge a few years back and fallen for that Ancient Runes professor, Alexis O'Bryan that he had wanted to hit on immediately upon getting the DADA job. They had gotten married two years later and Sirius had three daughters: Keira (8), Ariel (6), and Julianna (4). He was quite happy with himself over it.

Harry grinned when he saw the first years line up to come inside. He could see Lily chatting absently to a girl with bushy red hair but he couldn't see her face. It looked like she had made a friend fairly quickly. James and Brig on the other hand were whispering to each other and Harry knew that look well enough to know that they were plotting something. He crossed his fingers that they would at least wait until dinner was over.

Alexis Black placed the Sorting Hat on the chair and the hat began to sing. Harry wasn't paying attention to the song. He was more concerned with the WWW product that Brigham had in his hands. Sure enough, the hat had barely finished singing and a firework went off over the first years' heads, lighting up the Great Hall with dragons.

Harry buried his face in his hands and shook his head.

"Potter!" Snape demanded of Brig who immediately put his head down. "Sorry Uncle Sev-Professor Snape."

Snape grabbed the fireworks from Brig and took a seat back up at the table as laughter continued to circle the Great Hall. "First day, not a good sign, Potter."

Harry shrugged. "Fred and George are their favourite uncles. There's only so much I can do."

Snape grinned a little at that as Lexy began to read the names of the students. Harry listened with half an ear, thinking instead how he was going to punish his son for misbehaving so soon into the school year but his head perked up at the name Rosalind Ginevra Granger.

He watched the redhead with bushy hair make her way up to the stool and his heart pounded in his chest. Lily had been right. She was the spitting image of Hermione but with Ron's hair and pained expression of nervousness including the reddening of his ears.

"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted and she hurried off to her seat at the table but Harry couldn't help but get a feeling in the middle of his stomach that wasn't good.

Hermione had left because she had been pregnant.

Pregnant with Ron's baby.

Did Ron know?

He couldn't imagine his best mate abandoning a child but he couldn't imagine Hermione leaving without telling Ron either.

His eyes stayed on the girl.

He was going to have to figure it out.

Harry turned his attention back to the hat as James Remus Potter was called. James took a seat on the stool and grinned broadly. The hat barely touched his head and "Gryffindor!" James turned around and gave his father a thumbs up sign before hurrying over to take a seat at the table.

"Sirius Brigham Potter!"

Brig looked a little more nervous, Harry noted. He sat there for about thirty seconds before the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!"

Brig grinned and waved at Harry. Harry waved back before turning to Lily.

"Lily Emma Potter!"

Lily carefully took a seat on the stool, crossing her ankles. It made Harry smile. She was literally his little princess.

"Gryffindor!"

Applause continued and Harry smiled at his kids as Lily gave him a bright smile. He had told them no matter what house they were placed in it would be a great one but he was happy they were in Gryffindor. He turned back again to see his nephews' houses. So far, all of the Weasleys were in Gryffindor.

"Christopher Ronald Weasley!" Then. "Gryffindor!"

"Louis Charles Weasley! Gryffindor!"

"Tyler Arthur Weasley! Gryffindor!"

Harry applauded the last few students but his eyes kept moving back to Lily's friend.

He had to find out the truth and he had to find out as soon as possible.

Dinner went by quickly after that and after Minerva spoke to the students about rules and sent them off to bed, he headed towards the Gryffindor table.

"James, Brigham, here, now." He said quietly.

"Ah, Uncle Harry, don't give them too much grief, it was amusing!" His godson Teddy exclaimed from behind him. Teddy Lupin was a sixth year now and it made Harry feel old to think that he was sixteen years old.

Harry grinned at his godson. "I'll see what I can do. Goodnight Teddy."

Teddy shrugged at James and Brig sympathetically before he headed out of the Great Hall.

James and Brig both turned to look at their father and sighed before shuffling over towards him.

"We got into Gryffindor, Dad!" Brigham exclaimed, a bright smile on his face. "Aren't you proud?"

"Aren't you two in trouble?" Harry asked, refusing to allow himself to be swayed.

James shrugged. "We didn't mean for them to go off."

Harry eyed his son suspiciously now. "Oh really? Well, despite your 'good intentions' you two are both still in trouble. Since you hadn't been Sorted yet upon your incident I suppose I can't take any house points away. But you will both serve detention with me every day for the first two weeks of school during your lunch hour. Understood?"

"Yes," they mumbled simultaneously.

He grinned at them. "Good. Now I'll bring you up to Gryffindor Tower so I can show you where it is. No more funny business from you two."

Brigham grinned then. "Sure Dad. We won't make a business out of being funny at all."

"It just kind of happens." James said.

Harry rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long year.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter VII:**

**Harry** got home about an hour later. By the time he had made sure his sons were up at Gryffindor Tower and were aware that their detentions started the very next day, he had to make a quick run to his office to check his schedule. He had to know exactly when he would be teaching the first year Gryffindors. He had to find out about Rose. He headed into the kitchen, lost in thought.

How was he supposed to stop himself from doing what he so badly wanted to do?

How was he supposed to lie to his best mate?

Would he be lying?

Did Ron actually know that he had a daughter?

He sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair in frustration. There was no way he was wrong about this. The coincidences were just too many not to mention how much Rose looked like Ron. It just had to be true.

He jolted when arms encircled his waist and he turned so that he could wrap his arms around his wife of going on twelve years.

"I really needed that," he muttered, pulling her a little closer and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Are the kids are settled in for the night?"

Ginny nodded, tilting her head to kiss him softly. "Yes. How was the feast and the Sorting? What houses did the kids get into?"

He grinned and chuckled as he remembered what his boys had done. "It's going to be a long year, Gin."

Ginny's eyebrows rose slightly. "Oh dear, what did they do?"

"Got some fireworks from WWW and let them go just after the Sorting Hat finished its song. They hadn't even been sorted into their houses yet. Snape just looked at me like 'this is what I have to look forward to'? It's going to be a real long year. All three of them were sorted into Gryffindor though along with Louis, Chris and Tyler. I don't think that hat is even trying anymore."

She laughed. "They let off fireworks?"

"Yup. I didn't even know what to do. I called them forth after the feast and I've got them in detention with me for the next two weeks. I figured I couldn't take house points off because technically when the fireworks had gone off they had yet to be sorted. But knowing them, I doubt it will even do anything." He said honestly.

She grinned at that. "You're probably right. Something else is bothering you, though."

"Yeah it is."

He thought about just pouring it all out to her. It would definitely make him feel better to get it off his chest; to get a second opinion on what exactly it is that he should do but he couldn't. He couldn't tell her. Not until he spoke to Hermione and he found out the truth. He didn't want to accuse Ron of abandoning his child without first talking to Hermione and see if she had even told him. Ron wanted a family so Harry couldn't see him not wanting his own daughter.

He pulled her back into his arms and hugged her tight. "It's something I need to think about a little longer before I say out loud."

She nodded. "Okay. Come on, let's go up to bed. You have an early day tomorrow, Professor, and you have to get up even earlier to drop the kids' off at Mum's before you go in."

He grimaced. "You start at six, don't you?"

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Bright and early which is why its your day to get the kids up, give them breakfast and get them to Mum's house by seven thirty. Dad will make sure Aidan and Flynn get to school. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it." He said glancing at the clock. "Well, it is only ten maybe we could -"

"I'm going straight to sleep, mister. No funny business from you! I have to get up at four thirty!"

He grinned. "I'll be on my best behaviour."

She smirked at him. "You don't have a best behaviour."

He laughed and kissed her again, deepening the kiss a bit. "Alright, I'll hold myself off for tonight. I'm going to go kiss the kids goodnight."

Ginny smiled at him. "Alright, see you upstairs."

He watched her head up the stairs and he sighed. He really hoped that he was making the right decision.

**Three** weeks into the school year, Harry was beginning to go crazy. Minerva refused to let him view the records of Rosalind Granger. Everything he found out about her didn't lead him anywhere near Hermione. His only option left seemed to be to just ask Rose.

Hermione had hid her tracks well.

He finally found out that Hermione had been in Australia and taken a muggle career there as a lawyer. Without thinking about how crazy he was being, he had simply taken a port key to Sidney and started searching for someone who had known her.

When he got to the law offices, he was pleased to find her picture up on the wall for a reward for closing the most cases in the last year. He spoke to the secretary there and he learned that in April Ms. Granger had quit her job to move back home to London.

So he had decided to start looking in London; starting with her parents' house. He didn't have the nerve to knock on their door and demand where Hermione was. He had done that once twelve years ago with Ron and they hadn't known. So he waited for a sign of her around the neighbourhood. But again he came up empty.

He had even run into an old friend of Hermione's from Oxford, Courtney Lions and had lunch with her downtown, demanding of where Hermione was. Courtney who he had run into quite accidentally hadn't been aware she was back in town. Harry had filled her in on what he knew and Courtney had been just as interested as Harry in finding her old friend.

He was late going home day after day and he knew that Ginny was unimpressed with him. He had been lying to her and he didn't know how to tell her what he was doing. He knew exactly what she would say to him - it was none of his business. If Hermione was indeed in London that she would make her presence known when she was ready to.

Harry let himself into his house, kissed his kids goodnight and slid into bed next to his wife. Ginny didn't move. He closed his eyes and hoped for sleep, knowing that the next day he would start all over again.

**Ginny** was worried about her husband. He had been constantly late the last two weeks; missed tucking his children in; and he had been basically ignoring her. He barely spoke to her except for small talk about the children and then he was gone to work, not coming home until she was asleep. She was concerned. He was keeping something from her but she just didn't know what it was.

She dropped the kids off at the Burrow for the day so that she could get some running around done. She stopped at St. Mungo's first to pick up her pay cheque and smiled at Julie. Julie was her favourite nurse.

"Good morning, how is it today?"

Julie rolled her eyes. "Insane as usual. People are always doing ridiculous things to each other. Some guy just came in with his elbow quacking."

Ginny laughed as she accepted her pay cheque for the last two weeks. "Sounds like an interesting day. I'm glad I have the next three days off. Time to relax."

"Lucky," Julie muttered. "Hey, I saw your husband the other day. He was having lunch with a pretty brunette down the street at that muggle place that makes the best gyros. It looked pretty intense. I waved but I don't think he saw me."

"A brunette?" Ginny asked, hoping her voice was mildly curious and not filled with concern.

Julie nodded. "Yeah, they were having an intense conversation. I left afterwards. Well, you have a great weekend, Gin."

Ginny smiled at her friend. "I will, thanks."

She left St. Mungo's feeling a little nauseous. He had been out to lunch with a brunette now. What on earth was he doing? It was her bad luck that when she stepped into Gringotts, Cho was in front of her in line.

Cho immediately spotted her and smirked at her. "Well, if it isn't Ginny, how are you?"

Ginny tried not to roll her eyes and to be polite. Even though she had been married to Harry now for twelve years in two weeks, Cho still seemed to think that she had a shot with Harry. "I'm well, how are you?"

Cho's smile brightened as if she had been counting on being asked that exact question. "I'm wonderful, thanks to Harry."

Ginny gave her a puzzled look. "How did Harry help you?"

"Mmm," Cho murmured. "He helped me in many great ways last night. I think I was more shocked than anybody when he showed up at _Finnegan's Pride _and started flirting with me. He rocked my world. I always knew he was a great kisser but oh, can that man shag a woman! I understand why your keeping him around."

Ginny's heart sank. She knew not to believe a word of what Cho Chang said but Harry had been acting so oddly and she didn't know where he had been last night. What if he had been with Cho?

"That's some imagination you've got there, Cho. I suppose it's good you've got it so there's something there to keep you warm at night."

Cho's mouth dropped open as if to protest but Ginny had turned, her eyes smiling at the sight of her oldest brother.

"Hey Gin! I got your page. I'm free for the next half hour." Bill Weasley declared, hugging his sister to his chest. "Come on back into my office."

Ginny followed Bill into the back and smiled at him when he sat down. "Thanks for seeing me."

Bill nodded, leaning back in his chair and giving her a puzzling expression. "What's going on? I can see Cho was getting to you out there."

Ginny sighed. "She was just being Cho but … maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

Ginny bit her bottom lip and clutched her hands together. "Bill, Harry's been acting oddly this last month. He barely speaks to me except to ask about the kids. He leaves for work in the morning and then doesn't come back until late at night when I'm already asleep. He just insists that he's working. He's a transfiguration professor, I know he doesn't have that much work to do. Then last night he got home so late and usually he holds me when we sleep and he hasn't done that in days. Now Cho says last night they had sex. I know she makes up crap all the time but …"

"Hey," Bill said, walking around the desk to the sit on the corner and take her hand. "I'm sure something's just going on. Harry has so much better taste than to have sex with Cho Chang. She throws herself at him all the time and he's not interested. You know how bad he is at lying, maybe he's keeping a secret from you for your anniversary and is scared you'll figure it out."

She smiled at that. "I wish it was something along those lines. When he has plans like that he's too excited. I can tell. This is different. Do you think … do you think there's someone else?"

He sighed, hating the tears he saw in his sister's eyes. He didn't know. He had never pictured Harry as the type of guy to cheat but seeing his sister all worked up worried him. "I don't know, Gin. I think you just need to talk to him. Wait up for him tonight and see what happens."

She nodded and angrily wiped tears from her eyes. "I feel like he's slipping away from me and I don't know what to do to prevent it. I love him so much."

"Hey, it will all work out. Let the chips fall tonight and see what happens. Harry loves you. Any idiot can see that. Now stop crying. Don't waste tears on something you don't know. Talk to him tonight."

Ginny nodded, laughing a bit as she stood up to hug her big brother. "Thanks. Maybe I just needed to talk to someone about it."

"Anytime, Gin. No scram, I got work to do."

She grinned and kissed his cheek before heading out. Bill was right. Harry wasn't the type to cheat. There was obviously an explanation for Julie seeing him with that brunette and Cho, well, Cho had issues of her own. She would talk to him and see where it went from there.

**Classes** started out well and Rose was anxious to get working in them. She enjoyed learning but not as much as her mother did. She made sure she wrote home at least once a week telling her mother about her life at Hogwarts.

Potions she found kind of scary as the professor was kind of intimidating but Lily had told her that 'Uncle Sev' was a big softie, whatever that meant. Defense Against the Dark Arts had been amusing. Professor Black was funny, charming and a bit of a goofball but he seemed to know his stuff. Lily had told her not to worry because Uncle Sirius was brilliant. Rose was finding it kind of funny that Lily seemed to know everyone at Hogwarts as cousins or as aunts or uncles. Her Aunt Lexy apparently taught Ancient Runes but she couldn't take that until third year. Lily's Uncle Neville taught Herbology and her Aunt Minnie was the Headmistress.

It was a bit intimidating in that sense but Rose was relieved to see that her friend wasn't treated any differently than any of the other students.

Even by Professor Potter.

At the end of Transfiguration three weeks into the term, Rose was anxious to get to dinner. It was her last class of the day and she was beyond starving. It made her more nervous when the bell sounded and Professor Potter asked her to stay behind class for a moment.

Lily grinned at her. "Don't worry, Daddy just probably wants to meet you properly because I told him you were my best friend. Right Daddy?" She asked.

Harry smiled at his daughter. She was his little angel and he found it so hard to not smile when he looked at her. When she got into trouble he had always found it harder to punish her than to punish Brig and James. "Yes, Lily. Can I have a moment alone with Rose, though? She'll meet you at dinner."

Lily nodded and skipped out of the room.

Harry took a seat on the corner of his desk and eyed Rose carefully. She looked a little worried. "There's no need to be afraid of me, Ms. Granger."

Rose smiled a bit. "You can call me Rose. Ms. Granger sounds like my mum."

Harry laughed a bit at that. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"My mum?" Rose asked in surprise.

Harry nodded. "I tried to get the information from the headmistress but that's not allowed. If you don't want to tell me, I understand as well. But … come with me to my office. I want to show you something."

Rose followed him into the door behind the classroom that led to the Transfiguration office that Harry used. She closed the door behind her and watched as Harry moved behind the desk to pick up a picture. He handed it to Rose.

"This was taken in my fourth year here at Hogwarts when I was dancing with a friend of mine."

"It's my mum!" Rose exclaimed. Her mum looked beautiful as she waltzed with her professor across the floor. "And it's moving!"

Harry laughed at that. "In the magic world pictures don't stand still, but they do whatever you were doing when the picture was taken. So you're mother is Hermione Granger then. I was wondering."

Rose nodded, staring at the picture. If Professor Potter had been dancing with her mother, did that mean he was her father? She looked up at him carefully. She didn't look anything like him. But maybe it was so. Her eyes moved to the other pictures on his desk and her eyes fell to an older one of a beautiful woman with long red hair and green eyes and a man with messy hair and glasses.

"Who's that?"

Harry smiled and handed her the photo. "Those are my parents. They sadly passed away when I was baby."

Rose nodded but her eyes were glued to the red hair of the woman. If his mother had red hair than maybe it was possible. "Are you my father?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

"What? NO!" Harry exclaimed, kneeling in front of the girl. "No, I'm not. Don't you know who your father is?"

Rose shook her head and handed the photo back to him. "Mum won't tell me. She never talks about him. I don't think he wanted me."

Harry smiled now and took her hand in hers. "I think you're very wrong. He would be lucky to have you."

"Do you know who he is?"

Harry hesitated. It wasn't his business to inform this girl who her father was. But damn it, he was her uncle and he wanted her to know. He wanted his best mate to know.

"I don't know if I should tell you if your mum's been keeping it a secret."

Rose pouted and tears welled up in her eyes. "Why won't anybody tell me? Is he a bad man?"

"No, no, honey, no. He's a wonderful man. He's an Auror."

"What's that?"

Harry sighed. "A dark wizard catcher. Kind of like a detective. He's actually my brother-in-law which makes me your uncle Harry."

"I have an uncle?"

He grinned. "Lots of uncles and lots of aunts and lots of cousins - including Lily."

Rose's face lit up at those words. "Really? Lily and I are cousins!"

Harry smiled at her. "Yeah, you are."

"So what's my dad's name?"

Harry hesitated again. "Rose, let me talk to your mother first. I can't tell you who he is without speaking with her. Maybe there's a reason why she doesn't want you to know."

She sighed. "It's not fair! What harm can come of just knowing his name?"

He smiled. "I can't, Rose, I'm sorry."

She grimaced. "Fine! Are you going to go talk to my mum now?"

"That's the plan. You just need to give me your address."

Rose rattled it off and Harry smiled.

"Thanks Rose. Can you do me a huge favour? Can you promise me that you won't tell anybody what I said to you tonight? Not until we have all the facts worked out?"

"Okay." Rose replied quickly. She was more than willing to keep a secret if it meant she would learn the identity of her father. Besides, she was pretty sure best friends didn't apply to a secret such as this one. "I promise."

Harry grinned. "Great! Go, enjoy dinner."

He watched her hurry out of the room and he headed to his floo, address in his hand. He was going to get the truth out of Hermione and he was going to do it right now.

**Hermione** was sitting at the kitchen table reading the job listings in the paper as her chicken baked in the oven. She had received Rose's latest letter that afternoon and she was thrilled to learn that her little girl was having so much fun. But she had also noted that Rose's letter had been filled with stuff about Lily. Lily, the girl who had looked so much like Harry it had caused Hermione to run from Diagon Alley. She was still ashamed of herself for doing so.

The knock on the front door surprised her and she headed into the common room to answer it. She tugged it open and her eyes widened.

"Harry."

"Hermione, can I come in?"

She nodded and let him inside, leading him into the kitchen. "Wh-what are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"Rose."

Hermione's eyes widened and she twisted her hands nervously in front of her. "Rose?"

"Yeah, your daughter that you had with Ron, you know the one?"

She could hear the anger in his voice and she quivered slightly. "Harry, I-"

"You what?" He exploded, hands up in the air. "You left because you were pregnant? After all these years I thought it was because I didn't do enough to help you after you were raped; that Ron wasn't there when you needed him! God, you didn't even tell him, did you?"

Tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks and she sank into a kitchen chair. "I wanted to. I tried to tell him and I couldn't do it. Then I finally forced myself to go over there and tell him and he was with that slut!"

Harry snorted. "Nothing ever happened between Ron and Scarlett. He's still pretty hung up on you though he won't admit it. He's been dating this amazing woman named Emily for the last few months. He's finally given himself over to the fact that you clearly weren't coming back and now this! Hermione, how could you? Ron wants a family pretty bad! Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Gin - we've all got kids except him! Do you think he's hasn't wanted kids of his own?"

"I'm sorry, okay! I was young and I made a bad decision! I shouldn't have taken Rose out of Ron's life without telling him. It's just … every time I thought of coming back and telling him I just had this voice in the back of my head telling me I had been gone too long and it wasn't worth it."

Harry sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair. He hadn't meant to come barging into her house and explode. He had just wanted to see her, talk to her. It was hard to believe it had been twelve years since he had seen her.

She looked the same he noted. Her hair was still shoulder length and a bit on the bushy side. She had deep hazel coloured eyes but now she had glasses in her hand where she had pulled them off to argue with him. It seemed she still was a fan of arguing.

"Where were you?" He asked, lowering his voice and calming down a bit.

"Australia," Hermione replied. "I went to night school there and I became a lawyer. I gave up magic completely. After Rose turned eleven in February I decided to move back because I knew she would be getting a letter. Only after she got the letter did I tell her that I was a witch. I've never told her who her father was."

Harry nodded. "Well, I've been trying to track you down since I met Rose. I went to Sidney and spoke to a few people trying to find out. Minerva wouldn't let me see Rose's records. So then I spoke to Rose."

"You've been tracking me?"

Harry nodded. "Trying. How did you think I would react when I'm sitting at Hogwarts and I hear the name Rosalind Ginevra Granger? Then I see this pretty little girl who looks exactly like you but with Ron's hair colour and reddening ears. I took her aside, showed her a picture of you and me dancing and she said that was her mum. I started talking to her. She thought I was her father. I pretty much told her the truth after that."

"WHAT? What gives you the right?" Hermione demanded, her eyes flashing in anger.

"The fact that she's my niece, Hermione! Fuck! All I did was tell her that her father was my best mate, an Auror and that after I talked to you I would tell her his name."

"You most certainly will not!"

"I most certainly will! And then I'm going to tell Ron."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "You're not even going to give me the chance."

"Can you tell him? Ron deserves to know he has a daughter, Hermione! God, Rose thought I was her father at first and when I told her I wasn't she looked so crushed! My daughter has befriended her and I just wanted her to know that her father didn't abandon her the way she seems to think he did."

Hermione covered her face in her hands. "Oh God, I never meant for her to feel that way!"

"Well, she does. So what's it going to be?"

"I'll tell him. I'll owl him right now and ask him to meet me tomorrow after dinner."

Harry nodded. "Good." His eyes fell on the clock and he swore. "I got to go. I promised I'd get the kids to bed tonight."

Hermione nodded. "I'm going to write Rose a letter tonight too explaining what I did. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you gave her a name."

"Good."

"Harry," Hermione called when he turned back towards the door. "I saw your daughter in Madam Malkins and I knew she was yours. Merlin, she looks exactly like you and I was trying to figure out who your wife was for you to have an eleven-year-old-daughter."

Harry grinned. "See, that's where you missed all the fun. It all came out on Ginny's birthday."

"What came out?"

"Me proposing to Ginny who I had been had been secretly dating for nine months and we got married in October and James, Lily and Brig were born August 18th. Yes, triplets. We also have Aidan who's nine, Flynn who's seven and Lorelai who's three. She's the love of my life."

"You and Ginny."

"Yeah. Best choice I ever made. Now it's your turn to make a choice and let me tell you, Hermione Granger, it better be the right one."

Hermione watched him leave and she sighed. She only hoped she could go through with it.

**"I** know, I know, I'm late and I'm sorry!" Harry said as he rushed into the house.

"Story!" Lorelai insisted as she stared up at him, arms outstretched.

He smiled and picked her up into his arms. "Alright." He grinned over at his boys. "You two want in on a story?"

Aidan and Flynn nodded.

"Can we hear the one about how you fought the dragon?" Aidan asked eagerly.

Harry grinned. "Sure. Let's go into Lore's room."

Ginny nodded at him. "We'll talk later."

He grimaced as he watched her leave the room before he headed upstairs. It wasn't a problem when he was late but he knew he had been making it a problem lately. He had been searching for Hermione but he hadn't been able to tell Ginny about it. He didn't tell her because in all honestly, he didn't know what he was doing. He had missed tucking his kids in at night over nine times over the last three weeks and he hated himself for it. He had missed dinner constantly and he had been coming home late with his wife already asleep. He completely understood why she was mad at him. But he still wasn't sure if he could tell her. He felt that until Hermione contacted Ron he should keep his mouth shut.

He took a seat on his daughter's bed and Lorelai snuggled under her covers, cuddling close. Aidan and Flynn sat on either side of him and he began.

"It was the first task and I didn't know what I was supposed to do. But I just thought I was in trouble. The Imposter Moody had given me an idea so I used my wand and I did a summoning charm, calling my Firebolt to me. It came and I jumped on my broom and I started to play red light, green light with the dragon. I was taunting her, taunting her to get up and fly away from her nest so that I could grab that golden egg …"

By the time he was finished telling the story, all three of them were fast asleep. He carefully moved off the bed and picked up Aidan first. He carried him down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Flynn and tucked him in, kissing his forehead. He headed back to Lorelai's room and scooped up Flynn, doing the same. He headed back into his daughter's room to tuck her in properly and kissed her cheek. Then he headed into his own bedroom.

Ginny was propped up in the bed, a book open in her lap and she eyed him carefully when he came in.

He sighed and placed a one way silencing charm on the bedroom door - no one could hear them but this way they could hear the kids.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I had an important stop to make."

She nodded and turned back to her book.

Harry unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the chair. "So what now you're not going to say anything? I thought you wanted to talk." He asked as he changed into his pajama bottoms.

She bit her bottom lip. "I don't know what to say. You've been late a lot lately. That's unusual for the start of term. I mean, you've only been teaching at Hogwarts for one year but I think its unusual."

"It's not school related. It's personal." He said, climbing into bed next to her.

Ginny nodded and pulled the book up higher in front of her face. "Alright."

Her voice broke a bit when she said it and he turned to her, pushing the book away. "Ginny, why are you crying?"

She shook her head and wiped at the tears furiously. "I'm not." She turned out the lamp next to her and snuggled under the covers, turning away from her husband.

Harry moved to snuggle against her, turning her around to face him. "Honey, why are you crying? I'm sorry I'm late. Really, it won't happen again."

"All of these late nights? Are you … is there someone else?" She asked, her voice quiet.

"What?" He exclaimed. "No! God no! Gin, you are the only one for me. I love you." He framed her face with his hands and kissed her softly. "There's no one else, not in the way you mean. There's someone that I've been trying to contact, that I finally did tonight but … not what you're thinking."

"Then what is going on, Harry?" She asked, sitting up now and turning the light back on. "You've been acting strange ever since school began. Julie said today that she saw you out with some pretty brunette and Cho's telling me you two had sex last night! Tell me what's going on!"

"WHAT? I have NEVER had sex with Cho and I do not EVER want to!" He insisted, shivering a bit at the thought. "As to the brunette, it was Courtney Lions, an old friend of Hermione's from Oxford. I ran into her accidentally in London and we started talking. I was hoping to get information out of her. There's no one else, Gin. There's never been anyone else."

She pouted a bit. "Will you please tell me what's going on?"

He sighed and sat up, rubbing his hands over his eyes and putting his glasses back on. She was right. She deserved answers. He was hurting her by not telling her, by lying to her.

"I don't know if I should. It's something I want you to know its just that I kind of feel like Ron should know first."

"Harry! You have to give me something, I'm worried about you!"

"Rose."

Ginny eyed him quizzically. "The girl that Lily talks about all the time in her letters?"

"Yeah."

"What about her?"

He sighed. It was time for the truth to come out. "Her name is Rosalind Ginevra Granger."

Ginny's eyes widened. "What?"

"Pretty much my reaction upon hearing the name during the Sorting. Then I look over at the stool and there's a pretty girl there with hazel eyes, bright red bushy hair, a few freckles on her nose, reddening ears, and your brother's dorky grin."

She reached out to touch her husband's arm. "Ron has a daughter?"

Harry nodded. "He doesn't know. I finally today spoke to Rose privately. I showed her a picture of me and Hermione dancing together and she said it was her mother. That proved my suspicions. Then she saw a picture of my parents and asked who they were. I told her and she then asked me if I was her father. I was shocked. She doesn't know who her father is. Her mother won't even give her a name. She told me she thinks it's because he doesn't love her. I told her that it wasn't true and that her dad was an Auror and that I was her uncle."

"Harry! You can't just tell her these things! Hermione is going to flip out when she finds out you were butting your head in where it doesn't belong!" Ginny insisted.

He sighed. "I know! I explained to Rose that I couldn't tell her who her father was without first speaking to her mother so she gave me her address. I went straight there after work. After some intense yelling at each other she agreed to tell Ron. She's supposed to send him an owl tomorrow and I think she basically gave me permission to give Rose a name."

Ginny shook her head in amazement. "I can't believe Hermione and Ron have a daughter together. She just left without telling anybody?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She moved to Australia and was living as a muggle. I don't know, babe, I just … I don't know. This whole situation has been stressing me out for weeks. I was wondering if Ron did know and just didn't care; if Hermione had told him and his response was one of the reasons why she left; if he didn't know should I tell him … it's been driving me crazy!"

Ginny wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry I was being a bitch. I just wish you would have talked to me."

He kissed her cheek. "It always makes me feel better, you think I would learn by now."

She laughed. "Hopefully now Hermione will break the news to Ron and it will all work out."

Harry sighed and took his glasses off, snuggling back down under the blankets and pulling his wife with him. "I hope so. I really do."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter VIII:**

**Ron** stared at the letter in his hand unsure about whether or not he should open it. He had recognized the handwriting immediately and froze.

"Ron, are you alright?" Emily asked, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

He swallowed slowly. "I … it's a letter from Hermione."

"As in your ex?" She asked carefully.

He nodded.

"Are you going to open it?"

"I - I can't."

Emily took the letter from him and carefully broke the seal. She held it out to him but he shook his head. She unfolded it carefully and began to read.

_Dear Ron,_

_ I think this letter is going to be a bit of a shock to you since you haven't heard from me in twelve years. Harry came to see my last night after discovering that I was back in London. He was angry and insisted that I write to you and speak with you immediately. _

_ I need to see you, Ron. I need to explain why I left and why I left like I did without saying goodbye. _

_ Harry tells me that you are with a wonderful woman now named Emily. She sounds good for you and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that relationship for you. I just think we __really__ need to talk about something._

_ Can you meet me tonight at _The Last Stand_ in London around seven? I'll be there waiting and I really hope you show up._

_Yours Affectionately,_

_Hermione_

Emily placed the letter next to him and gently brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You still love her. We both know you do."

Ron swallowed carefully, "Em, it's not … it's been twelve years."

She smiled softly. "I know that. But you still love her. We both know it. You love her like I love David. If he were to ever come back; to explain to me why he left me I would need to know. I would need to know and I would want to know. I would also consider going back to him."

Ron's eyes met hers. "After he hurt you?"

Emily shrugged. "I love him."

"If … if I meet with her tonight. The feelings there … Em, I want to be able to say that nothing will happen."

She placed her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn't hate you if it did. Ron, we're good for each other but we both know we're not right for each other."

"Are you leaving me?" He asked quietly.

She kissed him softly on the lips. "It's time. This letter only proves it. You've been waiting for her to return. I'm not going to stand in the way of a love like that. I know what it's like. But I hope we can stay friends."

Ron pulled her close to hug her. "How the hell did I deserve you?"

Emily laughed. "It was great, Ron."

"Yeah, it was." He kissed her forehead and he watched her leave his flat. It had been fun and it had been great but she was right. It wasn't meant to last not when they both clearly still loved other people.

He grabbed a piece of parchment from the drawer and quickly scrawled a response out to Hermione. He was going to meet her tonight and see what was happening. But first he was going to go talk to Harry.

**Harry** had just finished giving Aidan, Flynn and Lorelai breakfast. Ginny had the day off and he had let her sleep in, taking care of the kids. It was pouring rain outside and they were sad because they couldn't go out.

"How about you three go into the common room and watch a movie? We'll have quiet time so Mummy can sleep. What do you say?" He suggested.

Aidan grinned. "Can we watch _Toy Story_?"

Flynn nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"

Lorelai, pleased to see her brothers happy jumped up. "Me too! Me too!"

Harry grinned and set them up in the common room. "Okay, but you have to be quiet because Mummy is sleeping. I'm going to be in the kitchen marking some papers."

He got them settled and then snuck upstairs. He stood in their bedroom doorway and just watched his wife sleep for a moment. She was so beautiful it took his breath away. He sat on the side of the bed and gently brushed her curls out of her eyes, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

She purred and opened her eyes. "Mmm."

Harry grinned at her and kissed her lips, deepening the kiss as she held his head closer to her. "Morning."

"Morning. Is it time to get up?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No, you can sleep longer. It's only nine thirty. I was just greedy and wanted a kiss."

She smiled and sat up, stretching a bit. "I can allow that." She crawled into his lap, straddling him and kissed him deeply, lingering on his bottom lip just long enough to make him squirm. "Alright, I'm going to go take a shower."

"No, no, no," Harry murmured, sliding his hand up the tee shirt she wore to fondle her breasts. "The kids are occupied with a movie."

Ginny chuckled against his mouth as his thumbs brought her nipples to peak. "Nice try, Mr. Potter. Later on, when the kids are asleep."

He was about to protest, leaning down to kiss her throat when there was a loud knock at the front door. He groaned. "Go away!"

Ginny laughed and stood up. "Go see who it is. I'm going to take a shower."

Harry watched her go into the bathroom in disappointment and then headed down the stairs just as another loud knock was heard. He hurried over and pulled it open, grinning at Ron. "Hey."

Ron nodded and tugged Harry out onto the front porch. "How could you have not have told me she was back?"

Harry sighed. He had known that as soon as Hermione made contact he would be aware of it. "I didn't know how. Come on in."

Ron followed him into the kitchen and took a seat.

Harry put a cup of tea in front of him. "I'm not sure where to start. What happened?"

Ron sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair. "I got an owl from her this morning saying she wants to meet me tonight at a pub to talk. Emily read the letter out loud to me because I couldn't even bring myself to open it."

"Emily read it?"

Ron nodded. "We broke up. She said she knew how much I loved her and she didn't want to stand in the way. We care about each other but we're not in love. I think it's probably better if we're friends."

"I'm sorry to hear that, mate." Harry said honestly. "I liked Emily."

"I did too, but it's Hermione, you know. I just … do you think she'll … I'm pathetic. It's been twelve fucking years!"

Harry sighed. "No, you're not pathetic, Ron. You two were just made for each other. She left and even I was shocked, remember?"

"She was raped."

He nodded. "Yeah, she was. I promised her I wouldn't tell you which I did anyway as soon as she left. She came to me because she didn't want you to see her that way. She was embarrassed. She was also very jealous of Scarlett who she was positive was trying to take you away from her."

Ron grinned at that. "Not true. I just … I wanted to marry her. I wanted to have kids with her. Then she was gone and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. She disappeared."

"I started looking. I found out she went to Australia and got a job there as a muggle lawyer; finished her degree through night school."

"Why did you start looking?" Ron asked. "Why now?"

Harry bit his lip. He didn't want to say anything to Ron, not before Hermione had a chance to speak with him. "Something came up and I realized that it had been long enough. I wanted her back in my life. She's the sister I never had."

Ron nodded at that and brought his tea to his lips. "I'm kind of nervous. Is that ridiculous?" Harry shook his head. "No, it's not. Ron … she is going to have a lot to say; she kept secrets and stuff and please … hear her out. Don't blow off the handle until she's done. It's going to be hard for her and I already yelled at her pretty bad as it is."

"What kind of secrets?"

"Just go, find out. Alright?" Harry said, eyeing his friend carefully.

Ron nodded. "Okay. I will."

**By** the time seven o'clock came around, Hermione was a nervous wreck. Ron was going to murder her.

She had straightened her hair to get the bushiness out of it and made sure her make-up looked good. If she was going to meet him then she wanted to look her best. She wanted him to see her looking good not badly.

She took a seat at one of the booths and had just ordered a glass of white wine when Ron walked through the doors. Her heart stopped at the sight of him.

He was six feet four inches of pure solid muscle. His shirt was rolled up to his elbows and she could see the muscles quivering in his arms. His hair was a bit on the shaggy side and he had a full beard and mustache that oddly suited him. He was wearing blue jeans and a black button-down shirt and she had to swallow carefully to stop herself from drooling. He looked even better than she had remembered.

His eyes fell on hers and she couldn't look away as he made his way towards her. He sat down across from her in the booth and nodded.

"Hermione."

She swallowed again and put on a smile. "Ron, you look wonderful. Being an Auror obviously agrees with you."

Ron nodded, his eyes moving over her. "You look good yourself. Harry told me you're a muggle lawyer."

"Yes. I was thinking of applying to work at the Ministry now that I'm back in London again."

"You were in Australia?"

She nodded and took a sip of her wine. "Yes. How much did Harry tell you?" She asked nervously. His eyes were watching her intently but she had seen no hint of a smile anywhere in them and it made her nervous.

"That's pretty much it. He was very close-mouthed though I could tell he knew more." He reached across the table and took her hand in his. "He did tell me about that bastard Thornton and why you were living with him before you left. That all came out the day you left through."

Hermione closed her eyes. The touch of his skin on hers had sent her into overdrive. There hadn't been anyone in her life since Ron. She hadn't been able to date anyone. Every time she had come close, Donald had flashed before her eyes and she had stepped back, scared. She had focused strictly on Rose and politely refused those that had asked her out.

"Yes. I didn't want you to know. I thought you would have been ashamed of me."

"That's not true. I loved you, Mione."

Her heart stuttered a bit over the past tense. "I know. I"m sorry, Ron. There was a lot going on. I had a lot to deal with. I thought you were with Scarlett, which I know was stupid and that I was wrong about. I just … I made the wrong choice. I only hope that you can forgive me for that. I never meant to hurt you. I love you, still, even though I know that I don't have any right to."

Ron leaned across the table and placed his hand on her cheek. "I forgive you for leaving me, Mione. I just wish you would have said goodbye; you could have talked to me rather than just took off the way you did."

Her breath hitched a bit when he slid his hand down onto her neck before moving it back. "I'm sorry."

Ron nodded and tossed some bills on the table before grabbing her hand and leading her outside.

"Ron, where are we going? I need to talk to you about some-mmmm," she moaned when his lips met hers.

He pinned her back against the side of the building and kissed her deeply. He had no idea what he was doing. She had left him. She had taken off without so much as a goodbye and here he was sinking into her like it had never happened. But Merlin the way she reacted to him. It was like she still felt the same.

He disapparated with her in his arms and landed somewhat haphazardly in the bedroom of his flat, pushing her back onto the bed. When he started to tug at her clothes she didn't stop him. Within seconds she was naked beneath him and he bent his head to take one of her breasts into his mouth.

She cried out at the feeling. His warm lips sucking and bringing her to peak as she gasped beneath him, digging her fingers into his hair and holding him in place. When he switched to her other breast she reached down to unbutton his shirt. He moved back to her lips and helped her take the shirt off. His tongue slid over her bottom lip and she groaned.

Merlin, she tasted even better than he remembered. Honey and raspberries with a hint of vanilla that made her salty skin seem more poignant. He trailed his lips down her neck, in between her breasts and used his tongue to circle her bellybutton. He spread her legs before him and ran his hands gently along the inside of each thigh before he lowered his head and slid his tongue inside of her.

Hermione gasped now, her entire body arching to meet his greedy mouth. She was building towards her climax, desperate to feel his touch. "Ron!" She cried out, hands buried deep in his hair.

He kissed his way back up her body, unzipping his jeans and pushing both his jeans and his underwear off before positioning himself over her.

"Now." He said.

Hermione could only nod as he slid deeply into her. When he started to move faster, harder, faster she choked out his name as the first orgasm ripped through her. His mouth moved to her right breast and she was soon building towards another one. She came a second time and this time Ron went with her, burying himself deeper and deeper inside of her with every thrust until they were both empty.

He collapsed on top of her, kissing her shoulders and pulling her with him so that they were side by side and he was still inside of her. He kissed her lips then and grinned at her.

"I feel much better now."

She laughed and put her hand on his shoulder only to watch it slide off limply. "Good."

Ron grinned and gently danced his fingers along her collarbone. "So, what were we talking about?"

Hermione sat up then, paling a little. God! What had she been thinking? This was the last thing any one needed! She had come over here to tell Ron that he was a father and instead she had jumped right back into bed with him. But, oh how much she had missed sex. She had been too scared to have it after what happened with Donald but then time had passed and she had found excuses. Ron was the only man she had ever been with and the only man she wanted to be with.

"What's wrong, Mione? We can still talk."

"Ron … you … you have a girlfriend. This was wrong."

Ron shook his head. "No, I don't. We broke up this morning after your letter. We were really better friends that anything else. I don't sleep with more than one woman at a time."

She flushed a little, holding the covers to her chest. "I didn't mean to imply that … this was still wrong. God!" She crawled out of bed and started searching for her clothes.

Ron sat up now, glancing at her quizzically. That had been the best sex he had had since Hermione had left and now she was telling him it was wrong. "Why is it wrong? We're adults. In fact we're thirty-four years old, I think we can have sex. Unless … you're not married are you, Mione?"

She laughed at that, her heart stuttering when his voice said Mione. "No, not married. I just … you're going to hate me."

He watched her get dressed before he spoke. "Why is that exactly?"

"Can we go into your common room?"

Ron was curious now. He got out of bed, grinning when he saw her blush and pointedly look away as he pulled on his jeans, not bothering with his shirt and headed into the common room. She followed him and took a seat on the chair in the corner so that he couldn't be next to her.

"Why am I going to hate you, Mione?" Ron asked carefully.

Hermione sighed and bit her bottom lip. "Before … before I was raped, I had started to avoid you. I'm not sure if you remember?"

"I remember. At first when Harry told me I thought it was because of the rape until he told me you had only been with him for a week. I had thought you were going to break up with me."

She shook her head. "No! I … Merlin I was so in love with you I couldn't even think straight. But then something happened. An accident. An accident that made me so happy and so utterly terrified at the same time that I didn't know what to do. I wanted to tell you right away but I thought I couldn't tell you until I figured out how I felt about it."

He nodded. "Makes sense."

She clutched her hands together nervously and bit her bottom lip. "Well, I had gone out for a walk and to get some ice cream just to clear my head some more; to really think on it. I stopped in the park and sat on the swing. That's when Don showed up. He said I looked troubled. I remember telling him that it was kind of him to offer his ear to listen but that I would go to you if I needed to talk. He got so angry, Ron. He accused me of lying and the next thing I knew he had slapped me. I had tried to crawl away but he pinned me down and he ripped off my blouse and my bra. I didn't have my wand with me because I was in the muggle world."

Ron's eyes flashed dangerously. "Okay." His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Hermione swallowed slowly before continuing. "The next thing I knew he was inside of me and I couldn't stop it. I was crying and scared but then I suddenly thought that maybe I could apparate without my wand. Harry had always been able to do it. I tried to focus but it hurt and I just couldn't do it. But then I did before he could … finish. I landed in the alley behind Harry's flat and I went straight to him. He took me to the hospital like I asked and he helped me report it to Scotland Yard."

"That's why you left? What was the secret you were keeping before?"

Hermione licked her lips. "That's what I need to talk to you about. I got to the hospital and I remembered what my thoughts were before Donald had shown up and I told the nurse. I was so scared that Donald had ended it. She brought out the ultra sound machine and told me I was okay. Everything looked normal for two months."

"Two months?" Ron asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"I was pregnant, Ron."

Ron's eyes widened a bit and he glanced at her stomach. "Pregnant?"

She nodded slowly. This was going to be the part where he hated her and she couldn't blame him in the least. "I didn't know how to tell you. I was afraid that you would quit being an Auror to help take care of me and the baby. Then everything happened with Don. After a week at Harry's I realized that I would start showing soon and I had to make a decision. I went to your flat to tell you everything and I saw you pushed back against the wall with Scarlett pressed up against you. It was too much."

"So you left without saying anything?" He asked, somewhat dazed at where the conversation was going.

Hermione nodded. "Yes. But I had the baby, Ron."

Ron paled a bit now and he stood up, his hands formed tight fists at his sides. "What?"

"Her name is Rosalind Ginevra Granger but I call her Rose. She was just accepted to Hogwarts this year. That's how Harry found out. He was furious and demanded that I tell you immediately. I wanted to tell you but as the years passed I just felt more and more guilty and I couldn't go through with it. I know that's not an excuse. It's a pathetic excuse actually, but it's the truth. I'm so sorry for not telling you, Ron, so sorry. I hope that you'll be able to forgive me one day."

Ron had barely heard anything she had said. His heart had stopped on the name Rose. He had a daughter? "I have a daughter," he said carefully.

She nodded, reaching for her purse and pulling out a small album. "She's beautiful. She looks like her father." She handed him the album and he took it but didn't open it.

"Does she know about me?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. I've always kept your identity a secret. It hurt too much to talk about you. She wants to know you and Harry told her more than I would have liked him too. He cornered her; peppered her with questions about me and she thought he was her father. He told her he was her uncle and that her father was an Auror. I think that's all she knows."

Ron nodded.

"Ron, are you alright?" She asked carefully, her voice a little higher than usual.

"No! Do I bloody well look alright to you?" He demanded angrily. "I have a daughter! A daughter that I never even knew existed until now! How could you have kept something like this from me? I get that I was immature, Mione, but I think I would have still made a good father!"

"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed. "Ron, that was never a question! You would be a wonderful father!"

"I want to see her."

Hermione nodded. "Of course. I'll get her home for the weekend. You can come over to my house and meet her."

He nodded. "I need you to go. I need … I need you to go."

She bit her bottom lip, tears in her eyes. "I never meant to keep it a secret for so long, Ron. I'm sorry. That album is for you."

She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the flat, closing the door quietly behind her.

Ron continued to stand in his common room, breathing heavy. He had a daughter. He picked up the album off the chair and disapparated outside of Harry and Ginny's house before knocking loudly on the door.

Ginny pulled it open a few moments later and smiled at him. "Hi Ron. I just put the kids to bed, don't knock so loud."

He glared at her. "I need to talk to Harry. Now."

She nodded, glancing at him quizzically. "He's in the common room. We were just about to watch a film."

Ron followed her into the common room and Harry nodded at him when he came in.

"She tell you?"

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" Ron demanded.

Harry sighed and nodded at Ginny. Ginny understood what he wanted and headed into the kitchen. He turned back to his friend. "I promised her I wouldn't. She wanted to tell you herself."

"Did you know? Did you know when she left?"

"No! Fuck no! If I had I would have told you. I got the biggest surprise of my life the first day of school!"

"You saw her?" Ron asked, his voice a little desperate.

Harry nodded a small smile on his face. "Yeah, she's beautiful. I was watching the Sorting, well watching Brig and James who were plotting something from what I could see but then I heard the name Rosalind Ginevra Granger. I saw this tiny little girl with bushy red hair and hazel eyes take a seat on the stool with burning red ears. The hat yelled out Gryffindor and she got this familiar dorky grin on her face. I almost had a heart attack. I went straight to Minerva but she wouldn't let me see her records. Then I started trying to track down Hermione. Finally, I just pulled Rose aside and I got her to tell me who her mother was. I got her home address and I showed up at her front door. I just exploded at her."

Ron nodded. He held the album up in his hands. "I haven't opened it yet."

Harry grinned at his friend and urged him to take a seat next to him. "How did the talk go?"

Ron shrugged. "Different than I expected. She apologized, started telling me how sorry she is and then I don't know … I tugged her outside and I kissed her and the next thing I know we're back at my flat and I'm shagging her brains out. Merlin, it felt like nothing had changed between us, you know?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Then what happened?"

"Mione got all weird and started saying how it was wrong for us to have just had sex and how I was going to hate her. She got dressed and she made me go into the common room and then she told me. I'm going to meet her on the weekend." Ron said quietly.

Harry grinned at his friend. "Want to meet her sooner?"

Ron nodded, his eyes widening. "Yeah."

Harry smiled at his friend. "Then let's go."

Twenty minutes later, Harry and Ron were sitting in Harry's office at Hogwarts. Harry left Ron alone there and headed up to Gryffindor Tower. It was only nine thirty so Harry figured the girls would still be up as it was Saturday night. The Fat Lady let him inside and most of the students turned to look at him.

"Good evening." He spotted one of his brighter fifth year students Anita Spelding and smiled at her. "Anita, do you think you could go into the first years' girls dorm and get Lily and Rose for me?"

Anita nodded and hurried up the stairs. Harry headed back out into the hallway to wait. Lily and Rose both stepped out and Lily grinned up at Harry.

"Are you going to give them detention again?" She asked, hands on her hips in a very Ginny-ish manner.

Harry glanced at her curiously. "Why? What did they do now?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Brig put maple syrup in my hair when I was studying and then James poured flour on top of me! Rose has been helping me try to get it all out of my hair all day!" She insisted, tears in her eyes.

Harry grinned and knelt down, tugging her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "Don't cry, honey. You still have the most beautiful hair of any girl I know." He winked at Rose and she smiled at him. "Not to mention a pretty amazing best friend."

Lily smiled at that. "Yeah. But they were mean!" Her lips curved into a grin then that made Harry's heart stop. It was the same grin that her mother got when she had a plan of retaliation in mind. "So Rose and I put superglue on their sheets."

Harry laughed at that. He had to give her points for creativity. Lily was always willing to get her brothers back in a way that they usually wouldn't suspect. That was definitely one of them. "Alright. Now, you know that means that if I punish them, you two will also be implemented?"

She sighed and then kissed his cheek. "It's worth it."

Rose nodded. "It was mean of them, Professor."

Harry smiled at that. "Okay then. All four of you will serve detention with me Wednesday night after dinner. Meet me in my office for six. I'll speak to James and Brig on Monday. Clear."

Lily sighed. "Yes, Daddy."

Rose smirked a bit that. "Okay."

Harry grinned. "Alright, anyway. The real reason I came up here was that I need you both to come with me to my office for a bit."

Lily nodded as her and Rose skipped down the hall, following Harry and chattering back and forth about how James and Brig were going to react when they found superglue on their bed sheets.

When they got into the Transfiguration classroom, Harry took Lily's hand in his and kissed it softly. "Honey, I need to talk to Rose about something. I know that she will probably tell you everything later but for now can you please stay in here while we go into my office? I'll be back out in just a little bit, I promise."

The seriousness in his tone alerted her to the importance. "Okay Daddy. I'll stay here."

He smiled at her. "Thanks baby girl." He kissed her cheek and then held his hand out to Rose. "May I?"

Rose placed her hand in his as he led her into his office and closed the door behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter IX:**

**Ron **turned at the sound of the door closing and his eyes widened a bit.

Harry smiled down at Rose. "Rose, I would like for you to meet your father, Ron Weasley."

Rose's eyes turned to Harry's. "My father?"

Harry nodded. "I promised you I'd tell you who he was. Here he is." He knelt down in front of her then, his hand still holding hers. "I'm going to go back in there and sit with Lily. You get to know my best mate here. He's a great guy, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

Harry squeezed her hand gently before he stood up, nodded at Ron and headed back into his classroom closing the door behind him.

Ron shoved his hands into his pockets as he stared at his daughter. "Er, hi."

Rose stared up at him, a little dazed. Her uncle had just brought her father to her rather than simply give her his name. She was kind of overwhelmed. "Hi."

Ron took a step towards her and knelt down in front of her the way Harry had. "I don't know what to say."

She shrugged at that. "That's a stupid thing to say. Everyone has something to say or you just don't say anything at all."

Ron laughed then. A big deep laugh that made goosebumps appear on her arms in a way that she didn't mind. It was a nice laugh. "Merlin you sound just like your mother. You look like her too, beautiful."

Rose blushed at that, her ears reddening. "Are you really my father?"

He nodded and held his hand out to her. "I really am. I'm sorry that I wasn't around. I um … well, Hermione, your mother, she just told me about an hour ago that I had a daughter. She never told me."

"Why not?" Rose asked.

Ron shrugged. "Different reasons I suppose. I wish she wouldn't have kept it from me though. I always wanted a daughter."

"You did?"

He nodded. "Definitely. I hope that maybe we can be friends."

Rose grinned at that. "Okay."

Merlin, Ron thought. She was the spitting image of Hermione. He could see what Harry meant though by looking like him as well. She had a cute sprinkling of freckles over her nose and her hair was definitely Weasley red.

"Do you think … why don't you tell me something about yourself?" He asked, a little nervous. She was already so grown up. How was he supposed to catch up?

Rose smiled at that and moved to take a seat in one of Harry's office chairs. "I'm eleven and Lily Potter is my best-est friend in the whole world!"

Ron grinned. "She's also your cousin."

"How?" Rose asked. "Professor Potter said that earlier and he said that he was my uncle."

Ron nodded at that. "My baby sister, well, she's not a baby any more, only one year younger than me, is married to Harry. That means that Harry is your uncle and Lily, James and Brig are your cousins."

Rose grinned. "That's brilliant! So Mum and I lived in Sidney and she worked a lot! But Grandma and Grandpa always came to visit and take care of me when Mum was working. Then we moved to London and I found out I was a witch! I used to be able to make things float and Mum always told me it meant I was special but she never told me I could do magic!"

Ron smiled at her, reaching out to brush her bushy waves out of her eyes. "Yeah."

She smiled up at him, moving to stand in front of where he was still kneeling. "Will I get to see you sometimes?"

"As many times and whenever you want. I hope that you will write to me too, tell me what's happening at school."

Rose grinned and carefully leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Can I call you Daddy?"

Ron's eyes softened and he tugged her close, cradling her head against his heart and sighed when he realized she smelt like honey and vanilla with just that hint of child that he couldn't explain but thought it was a mix of candy and baby powder. "I would love that, Rose. I'm already in love with you. You're the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen. I hope we become great friends."

She grinned up at him. "Me too, Daddy. Me too."

**Lily** looked up expectantly at Harry when he came back into the classroom. She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a very Ginny-like manner and smiled at him. "Daddy, what's going on?"

Harry smiled at her and took a seat in one of the desks. "Rose needs to talk someone." He said easily before promptly attempting to change the subject. "So, what have you been doing with your day other than plotting revenge on your brothers?"

Lily simply nodded at her father intuitively. "Rose is talking to Uncle Ron?"

"Uncle Ron?" Harry asked, somewhat taken aback by Lily's connection. "Why would you think he was in there?"

She shrugged, brushing her curls out of her eyes. "Well, Rose told me that you told her that we were cousins and I figured that the only way we could be cousins was by one of Mum's brothers since you don't have any brothers or sisters and she looks nothing like Uncle Dudley. And I remember thinking that Rose's mum looked like your friend from school and she was in love with Uncle Ron so Uncle Ron must be Rose's dad, right?"

Harry chuckled softly at her logic. "You're too damn smart for your own good."

She grinned at those words. "I just like to know stuff. Does Mum know about Rose?"

He nodded. "Yes, she does. I suppose you can tell your brothers now. We might as well let the whole family now. Grandma's going to be angry."

Lily giggled at that and crossed her legs under her. "Very angry. Grandpa will just smile and offer her chocolates."

Harry grinned at that. His daughter sure knew how to read people and to read them well. It sometimes unnerved him at how well she was able to interpret a situation. "Well, I think you're right. Now's let's just hope that Uncle Ron can explain to Rose what happened and that she'll understand. He really wants to get to know her."

"He will. Uncle Ron is a great listener and he's really good at making sure everyone is happy."

He smiled at her. "Come here, baby girl." Lily moved into his arms and sat on his lap so that he could hug her tightly and kiss the top of her head. "How did I end up with such an intelligent daughter?"

Lily simply grinned and kissed his cheek. "Because I got Mum's brains."

Harry busted into laughter at those words. "Smart ass." She was a constant surprise and he loved that about her. She was very much like Ginny. "I suppose I'll let that one slide for now." He kissed her cheek and grinned. "So, what do we want to do to pass the time?"

Lily grinned at him. "Exploding Snap!"

Harry sighed. "I should have known. The cards are in my desk drawer."

Lily just grinned and jumped off his lap to get the cards. He could only smile. How on earth had he gotten so lucky as to have a daughter like that?

**Forty** minutes later, Harry had walked the girls back to Gryffindor Tower since it was past curfew and then he had returned to his office. Ron was sitting in a chair, his face in his hands.

"Well, how did it go?" Harry asked, leaning up against the doorjamb of his office and eyeing his friend carefully.

Ron looked up at him. "She's beautiful. And she's smart and she wants to call me Daddy."

Harry grinned at that. "It's a great sound, isn't it? You definitely don't realize how great it is until your baby says it to you."

Ron nodded. "She's amazing. I still can't believe I have a daughter. I can't believe I had a daughter with Hermione."

Harry smiled at that. "Mate, maybe it just was meant to be this way. I mean, you and Hermione were stepping over each other left and right our whole lives. Maybe you jumped into that relationship too quickly. I'm not making excuses for her. She should never have taken off like that without telling you she was pregnant, but I'm saying maybe it worked out better in the end."

"What do you mean?"

"You're still in love with her, Ron." He stated calmly.

Ron shrugged and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So what if I am?"

"So what nothing. Do something about it. She's single. She's back in London. She's the mother of your child. She obviously is still in love with you."

"What makes you think she's still in love with me?" Ron demanded.

Harry sighed. "You said you two had sex. Ron … Hermione would never have just let you have your way with her like that if she wasn't still in love with you."

"She could have changed. It's been twelve years." He muttered.

Harry grinned at his friend. "Not that much. Not Hermione."

Ron was quiet for a few minutes before he nodded. "I need to see her again tonight. I need to tell her I met Rose."

"I think that's a great idea." He rattled off Hermione's address and smiled at his friend. "Just remember one thing, Ron. Any decision the two of you make now reflects upon Rose."

Ron nodded and scratched his nose. "I know. I think that's what scares me the most."

Harry watched him leave the room and he sighed. He just hoped that his friends could make the right decision.

He closed and locked his office door before heading out to leave the castle when he heard familiar chuckling. He turned at the sound and simply picked up each of his son's by the scruff of their shirts and lifted them from behind the suit of armour.

"It is WAY past curfew, you two."

James grinned up at him. "Hi Dad. What are you doing here?"

Harry shook his head at his oldest son. "What are YOU TWO doing out of bed?"

He placed them both back on their feet just as Brigham gave him a bright smile, his eyes twinkling in a mischievous manner similar to that of Ginny when she was plotting something.

"Dad, we were just trying to get the lay of the castle. We don't want to keep getting lost anymore." He explained.

"Oh really?" Harry asked, keeping his voice light. "So, why should you be getting the lay of the castle at eleven thirty at night when you've never once gotten lost yet?"

"Uh," James stuttered. "Because we -"

"Lily put superglue in our beds!" Brigham exclaimed.

Harry grinned now. His boys knew when the jig was up. "Well, she told me that you poured maple syrup and flour in her hair first."

James rolled his eyes. "That was because she put a charm on me so that whenever I was asked a question I would respond with 'what's up doc?'"

Brig nodded. "So we thought the best way to get her back was to dirty her hair. We figured if we went for the shoes she would kill us."

"Or bat bogey us." James replied honestly.

Harry laughed now. "Alright, well you three have got to start behaving. It's barely a month into the school year! I already spoke to Lily and Rose about the syrup and the flour and the superglue. All four of you will be in detention with me Wednesday night. As for you two, twenty points each from Gryffindor for being out past curfew and sneaking around the castle."

James sighed. "But Dad! We just want to be marauders!"

Brig nodded. "Yeah! Like Grandpa and Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius were!"

Harry sighed and draped on arm over each of their shoulders. "Don't tell your mother I said this but if you want to be real marauders, you can't get caught." He winked at them and then squeezed their shoulders in reassurance. "Also, I would subtly ask Uncle Sirius for tips. But if anyone asks, you didn't hear any of this from me."

Brigham grinned. "Excellent! Does that mean we can borrow your invisibility cloak?"

Harry laughed now. "I don't think so. I can only imagine what kind of trouble you two could achieve if no one could see you!"

James grinned wickedly. "Don't worry, Dad. We always let Lily be the mastermind."

He sighed. "That's what worries me. Now off to bed you two! I don't want to hear you got detention from someone else tonight."

Brig laughed and gave his father a quick hug. "Thanks Dad, 'night!"

James nodded and hugged his father as well. "Yeah, thanks Dad. Don't tell Mum! She said if she found out we were misbehaving again she would send us a howler! We don't want a howler!"

Brig nodded. "Definitely not."

Harry laughed at that. "I won't tell your mother. Now go to bed, both of you!"

He watched his sons hurry off back to Gryffindor Tower he hoped and he sighed. He wouldn't trade moments like this for anything.

By the time he got home it was after midnight. He checked in on his three remaining children. Lorelai was cuddled close with her favourite black bear, her red curls standing out against the blackness of the bear and she was curled around her pillow. He wrapped her up and kissed her cheek before heading into the boys room. Aidan was on top of his blankets, one leg dangling off the side of the bed and his head of bright red hair hanging off the other side. Harry grinned and walked over to straighten him out, kissing his cheek and wrapping him up. Flynn was the complete opposite of his brother. His bed looked like it hadn't been disturbed nor like he had moved at all. Harry kissed him goodnight and brushed his reddish brown hair out of his eyes. He looked back once at the door before heading into his own room.

Ginny was curled up in their bed, one arm wrapped around the pillow and was sleeping soundly. He quickly changed into his pajamas and slid into bed next to her. He tugged the pillow out from under her arms and instead wrapped her around him so that her head was resting over his heart.

She stirred at the movement. "Harry?"

"Shh, go back to sleep, babe." He whispered, closing his eyes.

Ginny tilted her head up and kissed his chin. "No. I want to know what happened. How did it go? Did Ron meet Rose?"

Harry nodded, gently running two fingers up and down her arm. "Yeah. They had a good talk. She wants to call him Daddy. I think it will be fine. Ron was going to talk to Hermione. He's still in love with her."

"Do you think that's a good idea? Getting back together?"

Harry shrugged. "I honestly don't know. But he's in love with her and she's in love with him and they had sex earlier this afternoon before Hermione dropped the bombshell of Rose. They're perfect for each other, Gin. I just want to see them both happy."

Ginny smiled at that. "I do too. I hope they make the right decision."

He nodded, closing his eyes. "Me too."

**Ron **knocked on Hermione's front door at quarter to twelve that night. It had taken him longer than he had planned on to work up the courage to knock. He knocked again when no one answered.

He saw a light turn on in the entranceway and the door opened, Hermione was belting up her robe as she stared at him.

"Can I come in?" He asked her through the screen.

She nodded and pulled the door open.

He stepped inside, closing it behind him. "I know it's late, I'm sorry."

Hermione shrugged and took a seat on the chesterfield in the common room. "It's alright. I know I dropped a lot of information on you earlier. I figured you would want to talk some more."

Ron sat down next to her and took her hand in his. "I went to see Harry again. After I was finished yelling at him because he didn't tell me about Rose, he brought me to Hogwarts and I met her." He squeezed her hand gently in his. "She's beautiful and amazing. I can't believe she's my daughter."

Hermione smiled at that. "She is your daughter, Ron."

He grinned. "Well, she definitely has the Weasley hair."

She laughed at that. "Yeah, she does but she got my bushiness unfortunately." A more serious look came across her face then. "How was she?"

Ron shrugged. "She was fine. She was more calm than I was. She said she would write to me and she wants to call me Daddy. I was good with that. We talked for about an hour but then she had to go to bed you know. She's wonderful."

"I know. She's the light of my life."

He smiled and pulled out the album she had given him. "I haven't looked at it yet. I was hoping you could tell me what every picture represents. I missed out on so much of her life. I want to learn as much as I can."

Hermione nodded. "Of course. I'm so glad Harry introduced you to her. She really is a wonderful little girl and I want you to be a part of her life."

Ron nodded. "I want to be part of her life. But I also want to be part of yours again."

"What?" She asked, somewhat flustered.

He grinned at her. "Earlier today, yes that was partly hormones and a mix of being happy to see you again and just pure lust but … that meant something to me, Mione. You still mean something to me. I'm in love with you. I never stopped."

Tears welled up in Hermione eyes. How could he still love her after everything she had done? How could he still want to be with her when she had gotten pregnant and taken his baby away from him?

"I love you, too, Ron. There hasn't been anyone else since you." She whispered.

He smiled at those words. "I know it's probably selfish but I'm glad."

She laughed. "You think you're being selfish? I left you and yet you still want me? I think that makes you the least selfish person I have ever met!"

He grinned and leaned in, kissing her deeply. "Let me make love to you tonight."

She melted into the kiss, her entire body tingling at those words. "Ron."

Ron smiled and kissed her, deepening the kiss until she surrendered and then they lost themselves in each other as if the years had never happened and they melted away.

For once, all seemed to be right again.

**Ron** woke up the next morning with Hermione wrapped around him and he couldn't help but grin. He kissed her cheek and buried his face in her hair. "I'm so glad its Sunday and I don't have to work."

She smiled and snuggled into him. "I don't have a job at the moment."

He laughed and kissed her softly. "So, what are we going to do about us? Are we back together?"

Hermione sat up, pulling the sheet up along with her. "Do you want to be back together? I mean, I love you and I know you still love me but … can you ever forgive me for taking Rose away like I did?"

Ron shrugged. He wanted to say yes, he would forgive her anything as long as she stayed with him. But she had a point. Taking Rose away was something he still hadn't quite grasped. He had a daughter that he barely knew.

"I don't know, Mione."

She nodded, her head down a bit. "I understand that but I don't know if we should be jumping back into a relationship when you haven't forgiven me."

Ron shook his head and took her hand in his. "I don't care about that, Mione. I'm not letting you go again. Not this time. I've been miserable these last twelve years without you. Rose was a surprise, a good one and a sad one. I understand why you left with her. You were scared and confused and recently traumatized and you thought I was cheating on you. Yes, you jumped to conclusions before figuring out the answer but I get it. Now it's your turn to get it."

"Get what, Ron?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"That I love you. That I live and breathe you. I can forgive you for hiding Rose from me. I need a little time to stop being angry that I missed out on her whole life but I'm angry at myself."

Hermione sniffed at that. "Why on earth would you be angry at yourself?"

"Because I didn't go after you." He said honestly. "Harry told me that you had said not to look for you and I didn't. By the time I realized my mistake you were long gone. If I had gone after you, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Ron, what happened wasn't your fault."

He shook his head. "No, it wasn't. But, it wasn't your fault either. We both made mistakes, Mione and now it's time to correct them."

"How?" She asked.

Ron tugged her close up against him and placed his hand on her cheek. "By starting with the obvious. By starting with the one thing I didn't do to keep you with me."

"What's that?"

"Marry me."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X:**

**Hermione** stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. "What?"

"You heard me," Ron muttered, his ears reddening a bit now. "I want you to marry me."

She shook her head and stood up, pulling her clothes back on and moving away from him. "You can't be serious!"

Ron took her hand in his and licked his lips. "Mione … we're perfect for each other. I've been in love with you since I was fourteen years old. I've never stopped. You were my best friend. You're the love of my life. You are the mother of my child. What isn't serious about that?"

"Ron," she breathed, looking down at their entwined hands. "We just found each other again. We've been apart for twelve years! I'm not the same person I was twelve years ago and neither are you! You can't just propose and expect everything to work out alright!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's unrealistic!" She exclaimed.

"I don't think it is." Ron replied. "It's us, Mione!"

Hermione began to pace now. "That's just it, Ron! What do we have that makes it us?"

"Rose!" He demanded, his face heating. "We have a daughter together! We have a past together! Why can't you see that I'm right here?"

"Why can't you see how ridiculous you're being? Merlin, Ron … it's been twelve years!"

He glared at her. "Well, I still love you! I'm sorry if my feelings haven't altered to suit you but I'm still in love with you! Seeing you again brought those back stronger than ever!"

"Brought them back!" She insisted, "How do you know it's not a reflection of what you once felt for me? How do you know those feelings are real? You're being an idiot!"

"You're being a bitch!"

"How dare you!" She exclaimed.

Ron grinned at her now. "I dare! You are a bitch! You can be so self-centered and rude and you always have to be right!"

"That is so not true!" She insisted.

Ron grabbed her and pulled her up tight against him so that she could feel every inch of his body pressed up against hers. "You're so fucking incredible when you're fighting with me."

Hermione's eyes softened. "Ron … it …"

"It feels right and that's what scares you." He kissed her lips softly. "And we can still argue like we used to?"

She laughed at that and circled her arms around his neck. "I feel like I … I'm so in love with you."

"But?"

"But I feel like I can't say yes without talking to Rose."

Ron nodded and kissed her again. "Let me do it."

"What?"

"Yeah, let me do it. I'm the one that's coming into her life; let me tell her."

Hermione sighed and kissed him deeply. "I regret every day not telling you I was pregnant and running away. I've never not regretted it and I've never stopped being scared of how you would react when you found out. But this … you're the most amazing man I've ever known. I love you."

Ron grinned at her and tilted his forehead down to hers. "Thank you for coming back."

She smiled at those words. "I wish it had been sooner."

"Me too," he muttered, kissing her again. "Me too."

**Harry** looked up at the knock on his office door the next morning and grinned at his best mate. "Hey Ron, what are you doing here? Wish you were back in school?"

Ron shrugged. "Oh yeah, my dream. Actually, I called in sick today, but I just left Hermione's house."

Harry grinned at those words, wiggling his eyebrows in a very 'Sirius' manner. If he had just left it must have gone well since he had headed over there Saturday night. "How'd that go?"

"Great. I asked her to marry me."

"What?" Harry exclaimed, eyeing his friend in surprise. "Are you insane? You just got back together!"

Ron shrugged. "She thought so too but I think I convinced her. I want to talk to Rose though. What time does lunch start?"

Harry glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes. I can go find her and bring her in here, will that work?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Oh and Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"That barbecue on Sunday at your place? Do you think Minerva will let all the kids come?" Ron asked. "I think it's time we broke the news to Mum and Dad."

Harry laughed at that. "I'll talk to her. She has a bit of a soft spot for me."

Ron grinned. "Thanks mate."

Harry headed out into the hall shaking his head. Everything seemed to be surprising lately.

**Rose** stood in front of Professor Potter - Uncle Harry's - office door and took a deep breath. Her father was in there. He wanted to talk to her. Uncle Harry had come and found her just as she was heading down to lunch to see if she wouldn't mind talking to her dad. How could she mind?

She took one more deep breath and then pushed the door open. Her heart rate sped up when she saw that her father had a big smile on his face for her. He was so much more wonderful than she had imagined.

"Hi Dad."

Ron grinned broadly at those words. "I really love the sound of that!" He knelt down to hug her tight and kissed her cheek. "How have you been?"

Rose smiled at him and kissed his cheek as well. "Good. Nothing really has happened since we last talked. I've just been doing homework."

He laughed. "I hated homework! Your mum used to always be watching me to make sure I did it."

She giggled. "She does that to me too!"

Ron smiled and sat down, ushering for his daughter to do the same. "I actually came here to talk to you about something."

"Oh," she said quietly. "What?"

"Well," Ron began, giving her a bright smile. "Your mum and I talked a lot after I spoke with you. We had a bunch of things to work out together and we accomplished that. One of things we had to talk about was the fact that I'm still very much in love with her."

Rose smiled at those words. "You're in love with her, really?"

Ron grinned. "Yeah, I am. I never thought I would be lucky enough to have two such beautiful girls that I could love so much, but I do. I don't want to miss out on any more of your life, Rose."

"Does Mum love you too?" She asked.

"Yeah, she does." He reached out and took her hand in his. "Rose, I want to be your dad in every way possible. I want to marry your mum."

Rose's eyes lit up and she threw herself into his arms. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Marry her! Live with us! I love you and I want you with us!"

Ron grinned against her hair, hugging her tightly against him. "Oh baby, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that."

She smiled at him. "Did you ask her yet?"

"Yeah, I did. She said we had to ask you first." He said.

Rose's smile widened. "I say yes!"

Ron laughed and hugged her again. Things were just working out really, really well. He thought it was definitely about time things started working out for him. He had paid his dues and now he wanted his life.

He was just happy it was finally coming together.

**Harry** had told Rose about going to talk to Ron before he glanced at his watch. He had to pick up Aidan, Flynn and Lorelai at the Burrow at one that afternoon but he needed to talk to Minerva first. He headed up the spiral staircase and knocked on her office door.

"Come in," she called out and he pushed open the door.

The office still looked so much like Dumbledore's it made him smile.

"Harry, what can I do for you?" McGonagall asked, smiling warmly at him.

Harry grinned at her. She had become such an important part of his life so much in fact that his kids called her Aunt Minnie. "Hi Minerva, I was actually hoping for a favour?"

"Harry, I can't give you personal information on a student. I'm sorry, I already told you."

He grinned at that. "Oh, that, don't worry about it. I figured that out eons ago."

"Oh really?" She eyed him carefully. "And how exactly did you do that?"

"I asked Rose. It's all worked out now before you get angry. Hermione and I talked; Hermione and Ron talked; Ron and Rose have talked - everyone is happy."

McGonagall smiled at that. "Well, I'm glad some good came of it. What can I do for you then?"

Harry grinned. "Gin and I are having a family barbecue on Sunday and Ron wants to bring Hermione and make the announcement that they are back together; possibly engaged and have a daughter. So I was kind of hoping I could get a day pass for my kids, Rose and all the Weasleys?"

McGonagall chuckled at that. "It sounds like it's going to be interesting. That's fine, Harry. As long as you come and pick them all up personally and bring them back to school."

"I can handle that. Thanks."

McGonagall grinned. "You're welcome."

**Harry** headed into Gringotts forty-five minutes later with the kids in tow. He loved Mondays. Mondays were his favourite day because he had somehow ended up with just double transfiguration for his seventh years in the morning and that was it. Now he had the rest of the day off and he just wanted to get some errands done; including get groceries as they were running a little sparse in that area. He also had to stock up for the barbecue on Sunday now that he would be having more people there than originally planned.

Flynn shoved Aidan behind Harry and Harry turned to glare at his sons, his hand tightly in Lorelai's. Both of the boys saw the look and glanced down at their toes.

"Uncle Bill!" Lorelai exclaimed in excitement upon seeing Bill Weasley heading towards them. She jumped up and down and waved at him.

Bill grinned and scooped his niece up into his arms, kissing her cheek and placing her on his hip. "Hi Princess."

Harry grinned at his brother-in-law. "Hey Bill, how's it going?"

Bill shrugged. "It's going. We've been busy in here lately. A lot of new stuff coming in from all over the place." He grinned at his nephews who were shoving each other again. "Hey you two, driving your dad bonkers?"

Flynn grinned at those words. "Can't. He's already bonkers."

Harry cuffed him gently across the head. "Brat!"

Aidan grinned at his uncle. "We're working on Mum but Dad says James and Brig are going to give them grey hair!"

Bill laughed. "So are my kids." He turned back to Harry with a smile. "How's it going with you? You and Ginny talk?"

Harry nodded, not even bothering to ask how Bill knew. It made him feel worse that Ginny had been concerned enough to bring it up to her favourite brother. "Yeah, it's all worked out; all a misunderstanding. I was actually …" He gestured for Bill to come a little closer to him. "I was talking to Hermione."

Bill's eyes widened at the name. "She's back?"

"Yeah she is."

"Does Ron know?"

"Oh yeah. He just found out. I was trying to keep it a secret and we all know how terrible I am at those. Ginny sees right through me. She was concerned for really no reason at all. You coming on Sunday?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah, everyone going?"

Harry nodded. "So far, including Hermione and … yeah everyone will be there. The whole family."

"You're hiding something." He said, grinning at his brother-in-law. "Do I want to know?"

"Let's just say it will be a day to remember. But I have to get going. I've got all sorts of errands to run for the day before Gin gets home and it's my night to cook dinner."

"Yeah, yeah," Bill muttered. "Go ahead. See you on Sunday. What time did you and Gin want us over?"

Harry shrugged. "Anytime after one is fine. The kids can enjoy the sun one last weekend hopefully."

Bill laughed. "First week of October is always that kicker - what kind of weather are we going to have? See you." He handed Lorelai to Harry and winked at his nephews who were too concerned with watching the goblins get people into the carts to pay attention.

Harry shook his head and turned to head back into the line and almost walked directly into Cho Chang. Her black shiny hair was cut short now, chin length and it suited her.

She smiled warmly at him. "Harry! I'm sorry, I didn't even see you there! How are you?"

Harry tried not to grimace and he instead wondered how long she had been standing there listening to his conversation. "I don't know, why don't you tell me?"

She tilted her head and attempted to give him a sympathetic look but she only looked smug. "Oh, trouble in paradise?"

He glared at her. "No, there's not; should there be?"

Cho pouted, taking a step closer to him. "I was just asking, Harry, you know I worry about you."

"Stalk me more like it."

She chuckled at those words. "Always the funny guy."

"Go away!" Lorelai demanded, one hand on her hip and the other one still tucked in her father's hand.

Cho smiled sweetly at her. "Sweetie, your dad and I are just talking."

"I don't like you!" She demanded, tugging on her father's hand. "Can we go now, Daddy."

"In a minute, sweetie."

"Cute," Cho purred and then shrieked when Lorelai promptly stomped on her toe. "You stupid little brat!"

"Don't you dare talk to my daughter like that!" Harry exclaimed.

Cho nodded, tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. It's okay, sweetie, I'm sure that was an accident."

Lorelai simply grinned at her. "Nope."

"Dad! Dad! Can we stop and get some ice cream on the way home?" Aidan asked, eyeing the little boy in front of him who was holding a chocolate cone.

Harry smiled at his son. "We'll see. It depends what time we get everything done. We don't want to spoil your dinner."

Flynn grinned at those words. "Yes, we do, you're cooking!"

"Brat!" Harry said laughing. He turned back to Cho then, his smile fading slightly. "Well, as you can see I have a lot to tend to, so if you could excuse me -"

She grinned at him and reached out to touch his arm. "Of course, Harry. You have a great day!"

Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her a little closer to him so that he could whisper in her ear. "By the way, if I ever hear that you're making up bullshit rumours about the two of us having sex, it will come back and bite you. Do you understand?"

Cho blushed a bit when he let her go and she stepped back. "A girl's allowed to have fantasies."

Harry ignored her and grabbed Flynn's hand, urging him to take his brother's and the four of them headed in the opposite direction. One of these days he was terribly afraid he was going to take a leaf out of his Uncle Vernon's book and smack her. He shook the thoughts from his head and grinned down at his kids.

"Alright you three, where to first?"

**Ginny** stepped into their home later on that evening with her feet killing her. Today had been the day from hell in her opinion. It had been so busy at the hospital that she had never stopped. She had even ended up working two hours overtime.

Not to mention that she had spent the whole day worrying about herself.

She was six days late.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind and instead concentrated on her sore feet.

It was quiet when she stepped inside and she slipped out of her shoes, shrugging out of her jacket and putting them both in the closet. She headed upstairs, leaning against the doorjamb of the bedroom her two daughters shared and smiling at her husband.

Harry was curled up on Lorelai's bed with Flynn on his lap and Lorelai and Aidan on either side of him as he told them a bedtime story.

"Mummy!" Lorelai exclaimed, holding her arms out.

Ginny moved to crawl into bed with her family, curling her daughter into her arms. "Hi baby," she kissed her cheek and then leaned over to kiss each of her sons. "I'm sorry I'm so late."

"I figured it got crazy at the hospital."

She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't even begin to describe it."

Harry grinned and continued to tell the story to the kids. Soon, Lorelai was asleep as was Flynn and Aidan was yawning. Within ten minute the kids were all tucked in and Harry had scooped Ginny up into his arms and carried her into their bedroom as she laughed.

"If my didn't feet hurt so bad I would protest this."

He laughed and kissed her deeply before placing her on their bed. "Hmm, I bet. Did you eat?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm not very hungry though. What did you guys have? Did they eat alright?"

"I can cook, you know."

"Not always well."

He grinned. "I made mac and cheese. Want me to make you something?"

Ginny smiled up at him. "You know what, I would love just some toast and jam."

He kissed her softly. "Coming right up."

Ginny watched him leave the room and grinned. He was so sweet. She undressed and padded into their master bath naked, leaning over to fill the tub up with water. She added her favourite bath bubbles and relaxing beads before pinning her hair up in a bun and climbing in. She moaned a little at the feel of the water and smiled, closing her eyes.

Pure heaven.

Harry stepped into the bathroom with a plate of toast and smiled at her, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "You tired?"

Ginny opened her eyes and smiled at him, taking one a piece of the toast from the plate and taking a bite. "Not so much just sore. How was your day?"

Harry took a seat on the floor next to the tub and stretched out his legs. "Eventful. I, uh, I ran into Cho at the bank."

"Hmm," Ginny said, her eyes darkening. "Joy."

He grinned now. "Actually, it was."

"What do you mean?"

Harry laughed. "Our daughter has your temper."

"Lily does not have my temper. She has my mischief and evil plotting skills."

"No, Lorelai."

"She's four! She can't already have my temper!" Ginny said on a laugh. "Can she?"

Harry grinned at that and handed her the second piece of toast and the glass of red wine he had poured for her. "You tell me. Cho was being her usual annoying self when Lore says 'go away!' Cho said something to her about her being cute and Lore stomps on her toe."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed, laughing. "She did not?"

"Yup and then Cho called her a stupid little brat."

"How dare she!" Ginny said, "I hope you told her off! She can't speak to our kids like that!"

"I did and she apologized and said it was probably an accident. Lore just grinned and exclaimed 'nope'. I was trying so hard not to laugh." Harry explained. "I don't know what it was that set her off but she did not like Cho at all."

Ginny grinned at that. "No complaints from me here." She took a sip of her wine and leaned back in the tub. "So, are you just going to sit there or are you going to join me?"

He smiled and moved to his knees to kiss her softly. "I was thinking about joining you. I just wanted to make sure you were fed and amused first."

"Oh, I'm definitely amused."

Harry grinned and stood up, undressing and then stepping into the tub with her and tugging her up against him so that she was straddling him in the tub. He kept one hand on her hip and slid his other hand between her legs, sliding two fingers inside of her and her head rolled back.

"Mmm."

He leaned forward and tugged one of her nipples into his mouth and her hands buried themselves in his hair.

"Harry," she breathed.

God he knew how to turn her to jelly. She was so close to coming already and she wanted him to be inside of her.

"Harry, stop, I want … I want you inside of me, now." She whispered.

He grinned and slid his fingers out, groaning when Ginny took him deep inside of her and started to move. They got faster and water sloshed over the side of the tub as they moved until they both erupted. He kissed her softly, running his hands up over her breasts.

"No complaints here." He murmured.

She laughed and kissed him. "Me neither."

They climbed out of the tub and changed into their night clothes before heading into the bedroom and crawling into bed. Ginny straddled him again, making him laugh.

"I don't want to sleep yet."

He grinned and tugged the jersey she wore over her head and behind her so she was in nothing but her panties. "Me neither."

She laughed and kissed him. "Mmm, yes that."

"I have good news for you."

"What kind of good news?"

"Molly and Arthur are going to take the kids Friday night so we can celebrate twelve years on our own."

Ginny grinned and slid her hands up his bare chest. "I like the sound of that. But I still want you right now."

Harry flipped her beneath him. "I bet I can make you scream first?"

"Silence the room."

He simply grinned wider. "Already did."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter XI:**

**Hermione** stared at Ron later on that evening as he finished telling her how Rose had reacted to the news.

"So …"

"We're getting married." Ron finished for her.

She stared at him, still not quite sure how and why this was all happening so fast. "Oh."

Ron wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. "I'm in love with you and I want you to be my wife. I want you to take my name. I want Rose to take my name."

Hermione's eyes softened at those words. "I would really like that, Ron. I love you." She giggled then. "We're getting married!"

Ron grinned broadly and kissed her. "Now all we have to do is survive the barbecue at Harry's on Sunday."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Molly is going to murder me!"

He shrugged. "Just remember that I love you."

She laughed at that. "That won't protect me."

He grinned. "Nope, but it will keep me safe."

Then he kissed her again, taking her mind off of all other thoughts.

**Ginny** headed into the grocery store on her way home from work and laughed when she almost ran head first into her brother.

"Bill!"

He grinned at her. "Hi Gin, better be more watchful of where you walk."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Right."

Bill smiled and took her arm in his, tugging her aside so that people could continue to get by. "How are things?"

Ginny shrugged. "Good."

"You and Harry worked everything out?"

"Yes, we did."

"I told you he wasn't cheating on you."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm really not in the mood to hear you're 'I told you so' speech."

Bill tilted his head a little to look at her. "What's up? You look a little peaked."

She grimaced at the term. "I'm fine, I'm just …" she sighed. "I think I might be pregnant."

"Again?" Bill exclaimed. "Doesn't Harry ever leave you alone?"

Ginny laughed. "How do you know it's not the other way around?"

Bill grinned. "True. So, another baby, eh?"

"That's the question."

Bill's eyebrows came together. "You don't want another baby?"

Ginny sighed and dragged her fingers through her hair. "I just … I don't know. Harry and I need to have the talk."

"Hey, I got fixed and I'm still working fine."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to force him to get it. I'll do it if he doesn't want to."

"Isn't it easier on the guy? You'll be on bed rest for a while, healing properly. Even with magic that one takes a while. Just get him to do it." Bill explained.

"I'll see. I don't want him to do it if he doesn't want to. Besides, if I am pregnant, we have a while."

Bill nodded and leaned down to kiss his sister's cheek. "Well, good luck with that one, Gin. I'll see you on Sunday."

"Okay, Bill, don't tell anyone alright … not until I know."

Bill smiled at her. "I won't. See you later."

Ginny watched him hurry out of the store and she sighed. She and Harry definitely had to talk.

**Harry** stepped into the bedroom later on that day in time to hear a loud cheer coming from the master bathroom and his eyebrow rose slightly. He half knocked, half pushed the door open just as Ginny moved over to the sink to wash her hands.

He grinned at his wife. "Do I want to know why you're cheering in the loo?"

She chuckled a bit at that and dried her hands. "Because I just got my period."

Harry glanced at her quizzically then. "Um … isn't that something you normally would not cheer over? In fact, usually that means you're going to be a bitch for two or three days."

Ginny laughed at that. "You're lucky I'm happy and am ignoring that comment."

He grinned now and leaned against the doorjamb. "What's going on, babe?" He was genuinely curious at this strange turn of events.

"I thought I was pregnant."

His eyes widened slightly and his gaze moved down to her flat stomach. "You … you thought you were pregnant?"

"But I'm not."

"You're … not?" Harry asked, becoming more confused by the second.

She sighed and scratched her nose. "I suspected. I was late and the timing would have been right but … I'm not."

"And you're very happy about this?" He asked carefully, still not fully following where the conversation was going.

Ginny sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to kiss him softly. "Yes. I think we need to talk." When he nodded she took his hand in hers and pulled him into the bedroom, taking a seat on the bed. "Harry … do you … do you want any more children?"

Harry took a seat next to her and turned her hand over in his. "Is this a trick question?"

She smiled at him. "No, it's not. I want your honest response. We have four sons and two daughters - more children than I ever thought I would have. Do you want more?"

He shrugged and looked into her eyes. "I … I haven't really thought about it."

Ginny sighed and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I have. I've been pregnant four times now. I'm thirty-three years old and … Merlin, this sounds horrible."

"Gin … you don't want any more children?"

She shook her head, tears in her eyes now. "I don't. I'm sorry, Harry, I just … I don't want to be pregnant again. I've worked the last three years to get my body back the way I wanted it. I don't want to be bloated with fat ankles and sore feet and … I don't want to be pregnant again."

"Hey," he murmured, tugging her up into his lap and gently wiping her tears away with his thumb. "Don't cry. I think that's a very justifiable thing to want." He kissed her cheek and she gave him a small smile.

"Do you want more kids?"

He shrugged again. "I honestly don't know. I'm happy, Gin. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I have more kids than I ever thought I would. Trelawney once predicted I'd have a dozen but … I think half a dozen is a fair amount."

She chuckled a little at that. "I love you, Harry."

He grinned and tipped his forehead down to hers. "Alright, so no more kids."

"Just us."

Harry's grin widened at those words. "I like the sound of that."

Ginny smiled at him, straddling him on the bed now and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Um … in regards to this 'no more kids thing', there's something else."

"What's that?"

She bit her bottom lip carefully. "One of us needs to get fixed."

"Fixed?"

She nodded. "So we don't have to be as careful."

"Fixed how?"

"You know, fixed, so we can't reproduce?"

Harry paled a bit. "Snipping below the belt?"

She kissed him softly. "That would be your operation, yes?"

He looked puzzled now. "There's one for you?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes. It's a bit more complicated but works the same."

Harry shook his head. "No, I'll do it."

"Harry, I don't want to force you into getting something that you're not sure about."

"I'm sure. I know you well enough to read what your eyes are telling me. It would be easier for me, wouldn't it?"

She hesitated.

"Ginny?"

"Yes, but -"

"Whose would take longer?"

"Mine but -"

"And which one of us would recover faster?"

"You but-"

"Then it's settled." He kissed her cheek. "Book my appointment and I'll go get this thing out of the way."

Ginny smiled at him, her eyes softening and her lips forming a tiny pout. "You are the most amazing man in the world." She kissed him deeply, until his fingers lost themselves in her hair and he fell back onto the bed.

"I guess I can be pretty great," he muttered as she kissed his neck.

She laughed and kissed his lips again before sitting up. "The best husband in the universe!"

"Hmm, liking that."

She kissed him again and slid her hands over his chest, lower until she unclasped his jeans. She smiled at him, tugging his jeans down his hips, followed by his boxers and took him in her hand. She fondled him gently, just enough for him to stand fully erect and then she leaned over him and took him into her mouth.

He groaned and slipped a hand into her hair as she sucked him. The way her tongue moved with expertise along his shaft; savouring him with every taste and the way her hands moved along his sacs, massaging and rubbing, squeezing and lightly scratching her nails … Merlin, she was so good at this.

"Ginny," he gasped when she began to suck a little harder, her mouth moving over him as she bobbed her head up and down. It didn't take long for him to finish and when he was done, she slid him out of her mouth and kissed his tip.

"You're the most amazing and best wife in the world," he muttered, completely relaxed by his surprise blow job.

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Well, I'm very, very happy with you right now."

Harry grinned cheekily up at her. "I'm pretty happy myself at the moment."

Ginny laughed and stood up. "Hmm, come on; Mum should be bringing the kids home any minute and I have to get dinner started."

He nodded as he watched her hurry out of the bedroom and he just grinned. It was nice that they could compromise, especially when he got such a nice reward. He stood up, pulling his pants up and whistling as he headed down the stairs.

Compromising was great.

**Wednesdays **were Harry's late night at Hogwarts and Ginny hated them. She knew he stayed late on Wednesdays to keep students in detention (only when needed) and to get his marking done, but she still hated it. She only worked half a day on Wednesdays and then spent the afternoon cleaning the house before picking up the kids from the Burrow.

She was snappy and tired and sore and she knew it was because it was her time of month. She rolled her eyes as Aidan and Flynn started shouting at each other. She dried her hands on the dish towel and headed into the common room where the two of them were wrestling on the floor as Lorelai sat in a chair, looking at the pictures in one of her books.

"That's enough, you two!" Ginny exclaimed. When they continued to fight, Aidan's fist hitting Flynn's nose she raised her voice. "Aidan Charles Potter you stop punching your brother right now!"

Aidan turned to look at her just as Flynn got a punch in, knocking his brother backwards in the wall.

"Michael Flynn Arthur Potter, what did I just say?"

She bent down to pry the two of them apart.

"But Mum, Aidan said I was a dummy!"

"Did not!" Aidan exclaimed.

"Did too!" Flynn insisted.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Enough!" Ginny yelled, glaring at her two sons. "I don't care who started it, there will be no fighting in this house. Do you understand?"

Flynn's eyes filled up with tears and his bottom lip quivered slightly.

Ginny sighed. She hated when he cried. Flynn had Harry's eyes and when they filled up with tears her heart simply broke. "Flynn, don't cry, I'm not mad at you. You two are just driving me bonkers! Can't you stop fighting for five minutes?"

Aidan shrugged and grinned up at his mother, eyes the shape of his father's but the deep chocolate of his mother twinkled at her. "But where's the fun in that?"

She laughed now, kneeling down in front of them and pulling them both into her arms. She kissed their cheeks and smiled. "You two are lucky you're so cute."

Flynn grinned. "I'm cuter."

Aidan made to protest and Ginny placed her hand over his mouth and raised her eyebrow at him for him to be quiet.

"But even though you two are very cute you are still in trouble." They both groaned. "Flynn, you can help me by setting the table. Aidan, you get to clean up the table and help me with the dishes."

"But that's way more than Flynn!" Aidan protested, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Ginny's eyebrow rose slightly. "And you didn't start the fight with your brother?"

Aidan's eyes lowered to the ground. "No."

"Aidan."

"Yes."

Ginny smiled then. "Good. Now Flynn, into the kitchen with me and Aidan find something to do without picking on your sister until dinner's ready."

She watched as Aidan headed upstairs to his room and she smiled at her daughter. "Want to help me, sweetie?"

Lorelai nodded and carefully climbed down from the chesterfield following Flynn and her mother into the kitchen. Flynn started getting the plates from the cupboard to set the table and Lorelai climbed up onto the stool to stand beside her mother.

Ginny put the bag of lettuce and a bowl in front of her daughter and carefully showed her how to rip it in half and put it in the bowl. Lorelai had just started on her first piece when the doorbell rang.

"Flynn, keep an eye on your sister, I'll be right back." Ginny said, wiping her hands on a dish towel and heading towards the front door.

She pulled it open and her eyes widened.

"Hermione?"

Hermione nodded and offered a small smile. "Surprise?"

Ginny's eyes darkened. "I don't really think surprise is the right word here. I am so mad at you right now."

"I know. You have every right to be. I was hoping we could talk."

Ginny sighed. She was mad at her. Hermione had become one of her best girlfriends and it had killed her to keep it a secret about her relationship with Harry. But then Hermione had just left; not telling her anything of what had happened to her and that hurt more. Ginny had wondered why it was that Hermione didn't trust her enough.

"Come in."

Ginny led her into the kitchen and smiled at Lorelai.

"Look Mummy!" Lorelai beamed, showing her how she carefully tore the lettuce.

"Good job, sweetie."

"Mum, the table's set." Flynn replied.

"Good. Now you can go into the common room and read _The Halloween Tree._"

"But Mum!" Flynn protested.

"But Flynn," Ginny whined back. "You have to start it, Flynn. It's due next week now go start your homework. I'll be quizzing you after dinner."

He shuffled off into the living room and Ginny turned to Hermione. "I'm just making dinner, have a seat."

Hermione sat down at the table and smiled at the way Lorelai carefully tore the lettuce. "You're children are beautiful."

Ginny softened at that. "Thank you."

"Ginny, I'm sorry."

Ginny whirled around on her then, temper flashing in her eyes. "Sorry? Hermione, sorry just doesn't cut it for me! Alright! What you did … it wasn't enough that you didn't trust me enough to talk to me about the problems you were having but that you didn't even talk to Harry! He helped you! After everything he did to make sure you were alright and you couldn't even tell him! You were so selfish! You just left! You didn't even give Ron the chance to make a decision, Hermione! That was his daughter too! His choice! You had NO right to take that choice away from him!"

Hermione nodded, tears in her eyes. "I know. I was selfish. I made the wrong choice. I'm not perfect, Ginny."

She sighed now and picked Lorelai up and off the stool. "Lore, can you go ask Flynn to read to you out loud. He's reading a good story."

Lorelai hurried out of the room, calling to her brother in excitement.

Ginny turned back to her friend. "I missed you."

"Ginny … you were the only girlfriend I've ever really had."

Ginny smiled at those words and she walked over, bending down to hug her friend. "I'm sorry I just yelled at you."

She laughed. "I deserve much worse. Are we okay?"

Ginny sighed. "I think so. I'm still mad at you for what you did to my brother but he's forgiven you so I can't hold a grudge."

"I don't know why he has." Hermione replied honestly.

"Because he's crazy in love with you. He's not as rash as he used to be. He knows that he loves you and that he loves Rose. He wants you both to be in his life and he realizes that he can't do that fully if he doesn't forgive you."

"He asked me to marry him," Hermione said.

Her eyes widened. "That doesn't surprise me as much as it should. What did you say?"

Hermione bit her lip carefully. "I said that the decision wasn't just mine and that Rose needed to be taken into consideration. He went to Hogwarts and he asked Rose. Rose wants us to get married. She's already smitten by her father and I've already received three letters from her telling me all about him and how great he is and how much she wants him to be in her life; to live with us. I still love him. How can I refuse when my daughter wants it so badly? When I want it so badly?" She asked.

She smiled at those words. "You shouldn't."

"I'm glad you think so."

Ginny grinned. "Well, I guess we'll officially be sister-in-laws then."

"I guess so." Hermione grinned then as another boy she hadn't seen came into the kitchen.

"Mum, have you seen my broomstick?"

"Your father locked it in the broom shed after you tried to fly upside down in the common room."

Aidan grinned. "That was brilliant!"

Ginny shook her head. "You are not getting it back any time soon, mister, so I suggest you find something else to do with your time."

"Man!" He muttered.

"Aidan," Ginny said. "This is my friend Hermione. Hermione, this is my son Aidan."

"'Lo," he muttered and then stopped at his mother's glare. "I mean, Hi, it's nice to meet you."

Hermione smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you too, Aidan." She watched him leave and she smiled at Ginny. "Okay, So I met Lily and have heard about a million things about her and Flynn and Lorelai are in the common room and that was Aidan … do you have any more surprises?"

Ginny laughed. "Well, Lily is a triplet?"

"What? Three?" Hermione exclaimed. "Ouch!"

Ginny laughed again, this time taking a seat at the table. "It wasn't so bad, after the first one they just kind of slid out." Hermione grinned and she continued. "James Remus was first then Sirius Brigham and then Lily Emma. James and Brig are troublemakers. The first day of school, just as the Sorting Hat finished its song they let off fireworks in the Great Hall. Harry said he wasn't even sure what to do as they hadn't even been sorted into their houses yet. Lily's just as bad but she has to be provoked. She's a lot like me but she looks so much like Harry's mother its almost eerie."

Hermione smiled at that. "Lorelai looks a lot like you."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, she does. Harry and I celebrate twelve years of marriage next week. We're celebrating this Friday night, Mum and Dad are going to take Lore, Flynn and Aidan. It will be nice."

"I bet it will be. I'm kind of dreading your barbecue on Sunday."

Ginny laughed, thinking of how her mother was going to react when she found out Ron was not only marrying Hermione who was back but had an eleven-year-old-daughter. "Oh, it will be interesting."

Hermione grinned at those words. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

**By** the time Friday came around, Harry was excited. It had been much too long since he and Ginny had had the whole evening to themselves. She had to work until five and he had let his last class go fifteen minutes early just so he had a little extra time. Lorelai, Flynn and Aidan were already at the Burrow so he just stopped at Ginny's favourite muggle Italian restaurant on the way home. He picked up this Vegetable Alfredo Pasta dish that she loved and a piece of a triple chocolate brownie for dessert before heading home.

He found the present he had bought her and placed it on the kitchen table and then he got to work. Within thirty minutes, he had the Alfredo warming on the stove, the dessert in the fridge and the table set with candles. The whole room had been made 'Great Hall' style with candles floating around them. The table was set and her gift was sitting just next to her plate.

The flowers he had picked up on his way home were in the middle of the table in a vase. He had grabbed her favourite, lilies and daffodils, not to mention the white roses he had sent to the hospital for her today.

Harry grinned at his work. It looked pretty good to him. He checked his watch and grimaced - he only had fifteen minutes left. He ran upstairs and quickly changed the sheets on the bed, turning the bed down and tossing red rose petals on the sheets. Then he changed into black dress pants and a dark blue shirt that he rolled to the elbows and headed down the stairs.

He had just taken a seat in the common room when the front door opened. He hurried over to greet her.

"Hey Baby." He took the flowers from her arms and kissed her softly.

Ginny smiled up at him. "I loved the flowers. Some of the girls were jealous."

"Good." He kissed her again. "Why don't you go upstairs and change and then meet me in the kitchen?"

"What's in the kitchen?" She asked, sniffing the air. "It smells delicious."

He grinned at her. "That is a surprise."

Ginny's smile widened. "Alright."

Harry watched her hurry up the stairs to change and he headed into the kitchen with the white roses. He was going to make this the best night they had had in a long time.

**Ginny** stood in front of the full length mirror hanging on the inside of their closet. She had no idea what she should wear. It wasn't like they were going out but she still wanted to be dressed up to some extent. She decided on a knee length strapless black dress.

Ten minutes later, she made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Her eyes widened at the candles and the food set out.

"Happy Anniversary baby," Harry murmured from behind her, a champaign flute in his hand.

Ginny accepted the glass and smiled at him. "This is wonderful. Thank you."

She took a seat at the table and he grinned at her. "You can open your present."

She smiled at him and picked up the box wrapped in silver paper. "Hmm."

Harry rolled his eyes. "No guessing."

Ginny laughed and carefully unwrapped it, her eyes curious as she stared at the black velvet box. She opened it and her eyes widened. "Oh!"

"Do you like it?" He asked, his eyes finding hers.

It was a white gold chain with a diamond pendant surrounded by crystals the size of one's thumb. The way the light shone off of it and the way it sparkled in the candlelight made her smile.

"Harry, it's beautiful. You didn't have to do this."

He smiled at her and kissed her softly. "Yes, I did. I never buy you anything just for you anymore. Everything's always about the kids and what they need. You're supposed to remind me that you come first."

Ginny turned and kissed him deeply. "What did I do to deserve you?"

He grinned at those words. "Showed me your breasts."

She cuffed him in the head. "Prat!" She took the necklace from the box and handed it to him. "Will you?"

Harry carefully undid the clasp and hooked it back together around her neck. Ginny's hands moved to touch the diamond.

"Thank you."

He kissed her again. "You're welcome."

Ginny stood up then. "Let me get your gift."

Harry took a seat at the table and watched curiously as she hurried out of the room. She came back a moment or so later with a large box and placed it on the table.

"Happy Anniversary."

Harry grinned as he opened the box. His eyes widened when he saw what was inside.

"I know it's not nearly as much as what you gave me but I knew you would love it."

He laughed at that and tugged out the picture. It was a painting. Ginny was lying on a bed of rose petals in a provocative pose that showed she was nude but left it a mystery at the same time. He smirked a bit at the signature in the corner.

"I feel like I should kill Dean for painting this but its breathtaking. You look incredible." He placed the painting on the table and tugged her into his lap, kissing her softly. "What provoked this?"

She blushed at those words. "Remember, when we were dating and watched that film _Titanic?_"

"Yes …" Harry said, not quite following. How was he supposed to remember a movie they had watched over a decade ago?

"Well, the heroine in the film posed for a painting in the nude and I remember when we watched it you thought it was very sexy for her boyfriend to have that painting of her. I thought of it then, but then I got pregnant with James, Brig and Lily and then Aidan, then Flynn and then Lorelai … I've just finally got back to the figure I wanted … I'm still a little top heavy and if I lose a few more pounds that will disappear -"

"No!" Harry exclaimed, sliding his hands up to cup her breasts. "I like you top heavy."

She laughed, shaking her head. "So, about five months ago I spoke to Dean about it and he agreed. It will be worth a lot of money one day too, being an original Thomas and all."

He grinned and kissed her deeply. "I love it. I'm going to hang it in my office."

"You most certainly will not!" She exclaimed.

He laughed. "Okay, my study."

Ginny kissed him again. "Much better. So what did you make me for dinner?"

Harry framed her face with his hands and kissed her again, taking his time and dragging out the kiss until she was limp in his arms. "I'm hungry for something else right now."

Ginny smiled at him. "I am too."

He just grinned as he tugged her down to the kitchen floor, preparing to show her exactly how hungry he was.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter XII:**

**By** the time Sunday came around, Ginny was starting to feel nervous for her brother. Harry had brought Rose to their home from Hogwarts and she had been just as beautiful and sweet as Harry had declared. Ginny had fallen in love with her. She looked so much like her brother it was hard to believe.

She sighed and leaned back into the strong arms that came around her. "Will you stop worrying?"

Ginny turned into her husband, snuggling closely into his chest. "You know how Mum is … she will somehow turn this around on the two of us because we knew about it and didn't tell her."

Harry chuckled at those words and kissed the top of his wife's head. "Yeah, that's true. But try not to think about it. Bill and Fleur are already here."

"Hey Uncle Harry!" Teddy declared as he stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He pulled out an apple and bit down. "How's it going?"

Harry shook his head slightly. "Make yourself at home."

Teddy grinned. "Thanks." He crossed his legs and leaned back against the counter. "So … what's going on? We get to leave school for a barbecue?"

Ginny walked over to her nephew and tugged his face down to kiss his forehead. "Troublemaker. Why didn't you come here with your godfather when he brought everyone else here from school?"

"Was busy. There's this gorgeous bird I'm fairly fond of and I was in the process of running up third base on my way to a home run."

Ginny cuffed him gently across the head. "That's not anyway to talk about a lady, Theodore Remus Lupin!"

Teddy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Aunt Ginny. Oh, and you might want to go see James and Brig … they were talking about changing the propane tank into something else."

"Oh no," Ginny muttered, hurrying out of the room.

Harry laughed and reached behind his godson to grab a beer. "You know better than to talk like that in front of Ginny."

Teddy shrugged. "I needed her to leave. Uncle Harry, I need your advice."

Harry's eyebrow rose slightly. "Come on, we'll go into my study so we're not disturbed." He led the way into the study and took a seat on the edge of his desk, smiling when his godson closed the door behind him. "What's going on Teddy?"

Teddy sighed and ran his fingers through his mousy brown curls. "I'm dating Gabriella Thompson from Ravenclaw, right? The really gorgeous girl with the long black curls and the bright blue eyes."

Harry nodded, a small smile on his face. "I know who she is. I can't count the number of times I have had to get your attention back in class while you stare at her."

He blushed a bit and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Well … I mean, Dad gave me the talk and everything and … I've excelled at every level I've been to but I've never gone all the way, you know?"

"You haven't had sex."

He nodded. "I think … Gabby's the one, Uncle Harry. We've been dating for almost five months now and we both want to a lot … I just … I really don't want to mess it up!"

Harry nodded sympathetically. He remembered feeling that way himself. Of course, Sirius had went about it the most embarrassing way possible with stories and diagrams and detailed instructions. Harry had definitely appreciated it later on but at the time he had been mortified.

"Well, Sirius is the one who gave me directions in that sense. He was a little … unorthodox. Let's start off this way, what do you know?"

Teddy blushed a bit. "Where I'm supposed to put it?"

Harry sighed. "Teddy, have you …" his face turned a dark red as he spoke. "Have you had oral sex?"

He nodded. "Yeah, only with Gabby."

"You received or gave?"

Teddy blushed again. "Both."

"So you know where the clitoris is?"

He nodded, blushing again and shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "Yeah."

"That's what you got to work with. That's all I'm going to say. Sex is never perfect the first time. You have to practice. My advice is when you're both ready have her go on the potion and use the contraceptive charm. I think you're a little young but if you feel you're ready … well, guide yourself in slowly, use your hand if necessary and ask her. Let her guidance position you into the right place. Trust me, it will all come together." He explained carefully.

Teddy grinned at that. "And if she doesn't know either?"

Harry laughed a bit. "She'll know what brings her pleasure, Teddy. Now are we both embarrassed enough?" He grinned and rocked back on his toes. "I think so. Thanks Uncle Harry, I was … kind of embarrassed to ask Dad."

"Fair enough." He stood up and grinned at his godson. "Just be careful. Now why don't you head outside and see what you can do to help your aunt, everyone should be arriving soon."

"Brilliant! Is Warren upstairs?"

Harry shrugged. "You better hope so because if he's causing trouble with his cousins, he's getting a good lecture by Gin."

Teddy grinned. "I'll go find him."

Harry grinned as he watched his godson hurry off to find his younger brother. That had been an interesting thing to ask advice on. Harry just hoped that he had been helpful. He winced a bit as he realized he might have to have this conversation again in a few years with James and Brig. Then he froze a bit at the idea of Lily … he would much rather not think about it.

He headed into the kitchen in time to greet his cousin Dudley. "Dud, hey, glad you could make it?"

Dudley Dursley grinned broadly. "Me too, thanks for inviting us."

"Well, it is a family barbecue."

Dudley grinned at that. "Grace made a potato salad, can I stick it in the fridge?"

"Oh, yeah thanks!"

Grace stepped into the kitchen and then and Harry smiled. It still kind of blew his mind to think of Dudley married. Grace was a grade one teacher and she was as pretty as could be. She had long dark brown hair that she usually wore back in a long braid and bright green eyes. Her and Dudley oddly suited each other well. In her arms she held Harry's newest cousin, their daughter Ella Dursley who was nine months old.

"Hi Ella," Harry replied, taking her out of Grace's arms and kissing her cheek. "Wow, she's getting so big."

Grace smiled at that. "I know, she's growing more every day. It's nice to see you again, Harry."

"You too." He kissed Ella's cheek again. "You look just like your mama."

Sophia skipped into the kitchen then, bright blonde hair just like her father's but her mother's soft green eyes. "Hi Uncle Harry! Do you know where Lore is?"

Harry grinned and knelt down next to his other cousin. "I think she's in the backyard helping Aunt Ginny. How are you Sophia?"

She grinned. "Great!"

She skipped off happily and hurried out the backdoor.

Harry laughed. "Well, shall we head outside?"

He led the way into the backyard, Ella still in his arms. It still surprised him to think that his cousin had been married for six years. He had two beautiful daughters, one four and one nine months. He was very lucky. Harry was glad that he had found such a good life for himself.

Harry and Dudley had kept in touch since that surprise meeting twelve years ago at the hospital. Vernon had died two years after and Petunia had been pleased to see Harry and his wife at the funeral but she still didn't want anything to do with Harry. She was annoyed that Dudley continued to associate himself with him and his family but she no longer protested it. She was much too pleased at having two granddaughters to spoil.

"How's Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, taking a seat at the picnic table and sitting Ella on his knee.

"She's doing alright. She was unimpressed when I told her we weren't going over for dinner because we were coming here but she didn't say anything, just pursed her lips."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Your mother needs to learn to let things go."

Dudley chuckled a bit at that. "Yeah. Harry, Mum comes over unexpectedly last week and Grace and I we aren't as super clean as Mum is, right? We had finished breakfast and hadn't gotten to the dishes yet and the laundry was in a basket but still had to be folded and it was almost lunch time. Mum walks in and starts ranting about how Grace can't keep a house properly and how a real mother wouldn't have kept her job but would have stayed home with the girls."

"You're kidding?" Harry exclaimed, not even surprised by his aunt's outburst.

"Not even a little bit. Grace just stood up and yelled back at her. She told her that just because she had used her own nephew as a child slave to help her finish all of her daily chores and just because she had not even worked on top of having that help didn't make her a saint but in fact made her a selfish bint who didn't deserve the son she had. Mum was speechless."

Grace grinned at that. "I think it gave her a wake-up call. She's been just peachy to me since."

Harry laughed, shaking his head. "Wow, I see some things haven't changed."

"Daddy, Daddy, can Sophia and I play Quidditch?" Lorelai asked, tugging on Harry's shirt.

"You don't have broom, Lore."

She grinned wickedly. "I'll fly James'. He said I could!"

"Oh, he said that, did he? Sophia has never flown on a broom, Lorelai."

"Er," Grace said quietly. "I'm not sure if I want her on a broom."

Harry smiled at that. "She would be perfectly safe." He turned back to his daughter. "Alright, how about you go get my broom from the shed and me, you and Sophia will go up together?"

"But Dad, than we can't play Quidditch!"

"You're too young to play Quidditch with the big kids, Lore, you know that." He gave her a small smile. "But you can fly with me if you want."

She tilted her head and her eyes twinkled at him. "Can I do the broom?"

He sighed. Those eyes, exactly like her mother's did him in. "Yes."

She hurried off laughing and Harry turned to look at his cousin and his wife.

"Boy does she have you wrapped around her finger," Grace said. "So, this broom?"

"I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt."

"Good," Dudley said, eyeing Grace carefully. "Grace and I wanted to talk to you about something anyway."

"What's up?" Harry asked, handing Ella back to Dudley.

Dudley cleared his throat and leaned in a bit across the table. "How uh … how old do kids have to be before they start displaying magic?"

"Magic?" Harry asked in surprise, his eyebrow rising slightly. "Who's doing magic?"

Dudley shrugged. "I don't really know, but I think Sophia might be. Grace doesn't think she has any magical relatives on her side of the family but I do and Sophia has been doing some weird things."

"Like what?" Harry asked, a little curious at the idea.

"Well, last night we put her to bed and tucked her in and read her a story. Then just as I turned out the light, all the lights in her room came back on, including the lamp on the opposite side of the room. I hit the switch again for the big light and then it came back on. She was giggling and said she didn't want to be in the dark. Then a few weeks back she had decided to climb the tree in the backyard and she fell. I wasn't fast enough to catch her but she landed on her butt and she bounced … ten feet off the ground she fell and she bounced, didn't even have a scratch! And a few weeks before that we told her to clean up her toys and she waved her hand and everything was suddenly back in place."

Harry grinned at that. "Oh, she's magical, Dud."

Dudley groaned. "I'm so not equipped to deal with this."

Harry laughed. "Look, if you need anything give me a call in the meantime, I can talk to her if you want, explain why she has to not use her magic in front of anyone other than her family. I'll mention it to Severus and he'll make sure she's on the list for Hogwarts."

Dudley nodded. "Thanks Harry. Um … what should I do?"

"Well, you're going to have to make her understand that magic is a secret and she shouldn't ever use it in front of her friends or at school, especially if she's already making things float." He explained, glancing over to where Sophia and Lorelai were holding his broom and then he swore under his breath as something else caught his eye. "James Remus Potter what the hell are you doing?" He yelled.

James was hanging upside down over his father's head. "They're only filled with pudding."

"Put those balloons down before your mother sees them. If I see anyone covered in pudding you two will be in detention with me until seventh year."

James sighed and handed the basket of balloons to his father. "Can I just throw one at Uncle Fred?"

Harry's mouth twitched slightly. He really would like to see that considering Fred Weasley was the bane of his existence when it came to the trouble his sons found. "No." He took the basket and put it on the table. "Now go play Quidditch with your cousins."

James flew away in disappointment and Harry pulled out his wand to get rid of the balloons before turning back to his cousin. "See what I have to deal with?"

Dudley chuckled a bit at that and then grinned as Lorelai and Sophia appeared next to them again. "Yeah, I can see."

"Can we fly now?" Lorelai asked.

Harry nodded and grabbed his broom. "Yes, we can. Come here, you two." He sat on the broom and Sophia sat in front of him, Lorelai in front of her. "Lore, hold on tight to the end, every little touch will move it. Now kick off with your foot."

Lorelai kicked off hard and Harry grinned when they lifted off. She was going to be a great flyer. He held onto Sophia and Lore, his arms around both as they moved quickly in the sky. They went around a few times and then Harry landed the broom.

"Once more, Daddy?" Lorelai asked.

Sophia nodded. "Please, Uncle Harry!"

He smiled. "Sorry guys, not today. Go find something else to do."

He took a seat at the picnic table with Dudley and Grace again just as Ginny headed over to them.

"Dudley, Grace, I didn't even see you guys come in!" Ginny exclaimed, hugging them both. "Thanks for coming." Her eyes darkened a bit as she looked into the distance. "Harry, James and Brig are wrestling."

Harry sighed and stood up. "On it."

It was twenty minutes later for all of the kids to be occupied and for all of the Weasleys to arrive except for Ron and Hermione. Molly Weasley however had already zeroed in on the new redhead and it was Harry's bad luck that she found him first.

"Harry, who is that redhead on the monkey bars with Lily?"

He sighed. "Um … That's Rose, she's a … friend."

"A friend?" Molly repeated, eyeing her son-in-law suspiciously. "What don't I know?"

"I can't tell you, Mum, but I promise you will know by the end of the day." Then he had escaped as quickly as he could.

He had barely made it back into the house just as the doorbell rang. His eyebrow rose slightly at the sound. Ron would have just walked in.

He walked over to the door and tugged it open, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

"Hi Harry, I brought a bunt cake."

"Who's at the door, Harry?" Ginny asked, coming up behind him and slipping an arm around his waist. "Cho?"

Cho smiled sweetly at them. "Well, aren't you two going to invite me in?"

Harry just glared at her. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Cho pouted. "I thought you were having a barbecue."

"Yeah and what the hell gave you the idea that you were invited?"

She giggled and bit her bottom lip. "After we talked at the bank I thought maybe you wanted to see me again."

Ginny's eyes darkened and Harry could feel the tension in her. "How dare you show up at our front door and hit on my husband? How many times does one have to tell you that it's over between the two of you? What is wrong with you?"

Cho glared at Ginny. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Hey, what's going on, guys?" Charlie asked, coming up behind them. "Wow, it's the slag come to pay a visit."

"Excuse me?" Cho exclaimed, flipping her hair back.

Charlie leaned against the wall and winked at her. "Still trying to get in my brother-in-law's pants? Shit, it's been like fifteen years, get the fuck over it. Harry, the cooler's almost empty, everything in the fridge?"

"Yeah, help yourself, Charlie."

"So, can I come in?" Cho asked once Harry turned back to her.

"No."

Ginny crossed her arms in front of her. "In fact you can get the fuck off our property before I turn you into the good-for-nothing conniving little rat that you are!"

Cho grinned at Ginny. "It's not my fault that your husband is attracted to me. If you can't keep him satisfied there's nothing I can say about it."

Harry grabbed Ginny around the waist and tugged her back against him before she could jump Cho. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck and she slowly calmed a little.

"Cho, I'm so satisfied with my wife that I'm the happiest man alive. We shag like rabbits. She is the most amazing and most beautiful woman I have ever known. You are not. You're an annoying self-centered stalker who doesn't know what it means to leave someone alone. I have been more than tolerable of your ridiculous crush on me but if I EVER see you speaking to my wife or anyone else in my family EVER again or talking to me EVER again or EVER coming to my home again I will use my power to have you put away."

"Power?" Cho said quietly, her voice trembling in a way that made Harry realize she was finally taking him seriously.

"He's Harry Potter," Ginny exclaimed as if she was talking to an idiot. "If he makes a complaint against you, who do you think would win?"

Cho took a step back.

"Get the fuck off my property." Harry declared, slamming the door in her face.

Ginny turned into him, her whole body trembling. "That did not just happen."

Harry's arms tightened around her. "It sure did. What a stupid idiot? I don't even know how to make myself more clear."

"I think she got the point, Harry."

"I sure as hell hope so," Bill said, grinning at them. "That was quite a show."

Fred nodded from next to him. "Tell me about it. But I think you should have sicced Ginny on her."

George grinned at that and crossed his arms over his chest. "Most definitely. She would have put that slut in her place."

Ginny grinned at those words and kissed Harry's chin. "I might have killed her. It was right of you to restrain me."

He laughed and kissed her softly. "Good."

Bill grinned at them. "Well, now that that drama's over, can we go start the next one?"

"Next one?" Ginny asked, eyeing her brother quizzically.

George nodded. "Ron and Hermione just got here and Mum looked like she was about to blow."

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and they ran through the house and into the backyard just in time to hear Molly's voice a little higher than usual.

"What did you just say, dear?"

Ron and Hermione were standing in the middle of the backyard holding hands. Molly and Arthur were in front of them. Arthur was holding his wife's arm and Molly's hands were on her hips. The rest of the family was surrounding them.

"Hermione and I are back together. In fact, we're getting married." Ron replied, smiling brightly at his mother. "She's the love of my life."

Molly eye's softened a bit. "And where exactly has Hermione been?"

Hermione paled slightly as she took a step towards her future mother-in-law. "I was in Australia. I moved there after I found out I was pregnant."

"Rose?" Ron said, tugging his daughter to his side. "Mum, this is my daughter, Rosalind Ginevra Weasley."

The entire backyard held their breath.

And then.

"OH! Come here, dear, I'm your grandmum!" She hugged Rose tight and kissed her cheek. "I'm so pleased to meet you."

Rose grinned and hugged Molly tightly. "Me too. I'm even more happy that my mum is marrying my dad."

Molly smiled at that. "Me as well."

She stood up then and let Arthur greet his granddaughter before she placed her hands on her hips again.

"Now who is going to explain to me why it took you two dunderheads eight years to realize you were in love with each other and then another twelve before you decided to marry?"

George raised his hand slightly. "Well, we did drop Ron on his head a lot."

Fred nodded in agreement. "And Hermione was just an idiot."

Molly grinned and hurried over to hug Hermione tightly. "Welcome to the family, dear."

Tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks as she hugged Molly tightly. "You don't hate me for taking Rose away."

Molly kissed Hermione's cheek. "I know what it's like to realize you're unmarried and pregnant. I made one decision and you made the other. I can't fault you for that. But …"

She let go of Hermione and walked over to her son, cuffing him across the head.

"Ow, Mum!"

"But you! You should have gone after her, Ronald!"

Ron grimaced. "I know."

Arthur came to stand beside his wife. "You finally made the right decision, Ron, don't blow it."

Ron grinned at his father and took Hermione's hand in his. "I don't plan on it." He tugged her close and kissed her deeply inciting a loud cheer from the family.

Harry grinned at his two best friends. "All I can say, is about damn time!"

Ginny grinned at her husband. "The family is finally coming together."

Sirius slipped his arm around Ginny from the other side. "And the sexy one is here so one has to worry."

Remus shook his head at his friend. "Let's ignore him and get the barbecue started."

"Sounds like a plan," Harry replied.

Then he groaned.

Aidan and Flynn were each on a broom, hanging upside down with pudding balloons in their hands and James and Brig were grinning identical smirks below them, pointing openly to family members.

Harry simply pointed up and Ginny's eyes darkened.

"Aidan, Flynn," Ginny began as she started to make her way across the yard towards her sons.

Harry just grinned.

Everything was back to normal.

THE END

CHARACTER LIST:

Harry and Ginny Potter:

James Remus Potter (11)

Sirius Brigham Potter (11)

Lily Emma Potter (11)

Aidan Charles (9)

Flynn Ronald (7)

Lorelai Molly (3)

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger:

Rosalind Ginevra Weasley (11)

Bill and Fleur Weasley:

Henry William Weasley (13)

Philippe Arthur Weasley (12)

Louis Charles Weasley (11)

William Harry Weasley [Will] (10)

Amberlynn Ginevra Weasley (7)

Charlie and Emma Weasley:

Robert Arthur Weasley (10)

Kalen Oliver Weasley (8)

Percy and Penny Weasley:

Preston Arthur Weasley (15)

Paul Percival Weasley (15)

Scott Ronald Weasley (13)

Travis William Weasley (9)

Fred and Angelina Weasley:

Andrew Harry Weasley (13)

Blake George Weasley (12)

Christopher Ronald Weasley (11)

Frederica Angelina Weasley [Freddie] (7)

Georgiana Molly Weasley [Georgia] (7)

George and Katie Weasley

Jameson Frederick Weasley [Jimmy] (13)

Tyler Arthur Weasley (11)

Matthew George Weasley (9)

Nathaniel Harry Weasley (6)

Remus and Tonks Lupin:

Theodore Remus Lupin (15)

Warren James Lupin (12)

David Sirius Lupin (10)

Sirius and Lexy Black:

Keira Ginevra Black (8)

Ariel Jasmine Black (6)

Julianna Minerva Black (4)

Dudley and Grace Dursley:

Sophia Margaret Dursley (4)

Ella Madison Dursley (9 months)


End file.
